The Hogwarts Fugitive
by AJ Black1
Summary: Harry Potter, in his fifth year, is caught with correspondance from Sirius and is expelled. He, Sirius, and Remus are forced into hiding, until they capture a certain someone, and adventure continues from there.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters. This story was written for fun and I'm making no money off of it.

Author's Note: I'm reposting The Hogwarts Fugitive parts 1-3 under this new name. I disappeared from this site for two years, and didn't have the same e-mail, password, etc, to simply add my fourth part of the story. Enjoy!

**The Hogwarts Fugitive, Part One**

"Hedwig!" Harry Potter called into the Owlery, glancing around for his snowy white owl. He walked up and down, searching the rows of perches. A few of the resting owls glared at him with one eye, angry at their slumber being interrupted. After not seeing Hedwig, Harry headed out of the owlery and back down to the Gryffindor common room. He felt a sense of foreboding. She had been gone so long, delivering a message to Sirius Black who was staying at Remus Lupin's house. She ought to have been back a week ago. Harry knew that the two men were probably just busy, but he needed and wanted an update on what was going on outside of Hogwarts.

The wizarding world was in a frightful state. Lord Voldemort had recently regained his form and had banded together his followers, the Death Eaters. Soon he would most likely try to free Azkaban prisoners and get the dementors on his side. Throughout the summer things had begun to tense up with Voldemort's old followers (the ones who hadn't been imprisoned) disappearing. Now everyone was becoming panicked with the fear that Voldemort would try to gain power once again, as he had tried to do so many years before.

After what happened following the third task of the Tri-wizard Tournament, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, sacked Albus Dumbledore and took over the headmaster position at Hogwarts himself. Fudge said that he did it out of concern for the students, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione secretly thought he became headmaster so that he himself would be in less danger from Voldemort and wouldn't have to deal with the wizard community. No one seemed to know where Dumbledore was at present.

Harry walked into the Gryffindor common room and was greeted immediately by Ron and Hermione, eager for information.

"Any news?"

"Nope." Harry shook his head. "This waiting is crazy! Hedwig should've been back long ago."

Just then, the door to the common room opened with a bang. Argus Filch, the Hogwarts caretaker, strode in with gleaming eyes and a wide smirk.

"Potter, you're needed in the headmaster's office," he said, making a gesture toward the door.

Harry looked uncertainly at his friends. "What's this about?" He asked, not moving.

"You'll find out," Filch replied, eyes narrowing. "Come along."

Harry walked out of the common room; very aware of the stares he was getting from his fellow Gryffindors. Filch closed the door and walked with Harry, whistling a little tune softly. Harry had never seen Filch so happy and knew that this was going to be bad, as Filch didn't like him one bit. He didn't dislike him nearly as much as Snape, but just the same Harry became worried.

"Here you are, Potter, headmaster's office." Filch whispered a word to the gargoyle that stood in front of Dumbledore's old office and the passage swung open. "Good luck," Filch told Harry sarcastically, giving him a shove inside and up the stairs.

Cornelius Fudge was holding a piece of paper in his hand and was pacing when Harry first came in. His face was contorted in fury as he turned around.

"What is the meaning of this? A student at Hogwarts! And you, of all people! I never would have believed...." Fudge bellowed.

"What, sir?" Harry asked nervously, fearing the answer.

Fudge thrust the parchment into Harry's hands. "Read."

_Harry, _

_We're fine here. We've been traveling which is why I haven't answered sooner. We've been hearing a lot of news, all of it bad. It's hard to tell what is rumor and what is fact. Your news about Dumbledore being fired & whereabouts unknown worries me. Write and tell me what's been going on at Hogwarts. Don't use Hedwig this time, it might look suspicious, and she didn't seem too well when she arrived here. Look after yourself._

_Snuffles_

Harry dared to glance up at Fudge after he had silently read the letter. He appeared to be in danger of exploding; a large vein was bulging in his forehead.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Harry didn't have any idea how he would get out of this one. There was no way to defend himself. Anything he tried to say would only make Fudge angrier. He blurted out the first safe question that came to mind. "Is Hedwig here?"

Fudge let out a disbelieving chuckle. "You have been communicating with a murderer—this Snuffles is obviously Sirius Black—giving out information about Hogwarts, risking everyone's safety, and you want to know about your owl?" He shook his head. "Your owl is in your room now. She collapsed in the Owlery on the way in with this message. Filch found her, read the letter, and brought it to me, thank goodness. He will be getting a large increase in pay. You, on the other hand, will be expelled from Hogwarts as of tomorrow morning. I never want to see your face at this school or anywhere else again."

Harry's heart dropped into his stomach and he gazed at Fudge, mouth ajar, not sure he was comprehending this.

Fudge's face tightened as he continued, "Yes, Potter, expelled. You have committed a crime unworthy of any witch or wizard, one that I never would have expected from you especially. This event has made me change my mind about you completely. I thought you had a bright future. Instead, you now have no future, at least in the wizarding world. Give me your wand. What I'm about to do isn't pleasant but you have forced me to do it."

Harry knew that Fudge was going to break his precious wand in half. Luckily, he didn't have it with him. It would give him time to...."Sir," Harry said, thinking fast, "I don't have my wand right now. It's in my room."

"Go get it. I'll keep the door open. I'll give you five minutes to get back here, no more."

Harry walked out of there fast-paced then broke into a run in the hall. What did he care if he got in trouble with a teacher now? Expelled! Not him, Hogwarts had been the happiest place he'd known. It wasn't exactly happy now with Fudge here and Voldemort loose and with him now being expelled, but at least he had his friends and he could still study magic. What would he do now? Where could he go?

He hissed the password at the Fat Lady and rushed into the Gryffindor common room, finding Fred and George Weasley immediately.

"All right, Harry? You look sort of odd."

"No time to explain now. I need one of your fake wands, one that sort of looks like mine if you can find one. Also, it has to be able to break in half without turning into something odd right away."

"Did you get expelled, Harry?" Fred asked, color gone from his cheeks.

"Do you have a wand like that? I have to hurry!" Harry insisted, ignoring the question.

"C'mon, Fred, we'll find one!" The twins dashed to their room, skidding in the hall, Harry at their heels. Once inside, they turned a trunk over and searched through a large stack of colorful wands.

George grabbed one and tossed it to Harry. "That'll break! Just make sure that you keep the pieces or they're thrown away or he'll know it's a fake wand within three minutes. I can't believe you're expelled!"

Harry didn't reply and ran straight past Ron and Hermione back up to Fudge's office. He nearly collided with Snape around a corner but kept going. He heard Snape's yells and footsteps behind him but didn't care. He was running out of time.

Trying to regain control of himself, Harry darted up the spiral staircase into Fudge's office; heart pounding so hard it felt like it would leap from his body.

"Well, at least you know enough to follow some rules, Harry," Fudge said grimly. "You know, while you were gone I realized that perhaps two years ago you helped Sirius Black escape from here. You and Miss Granger told that crackpot story about him being innocent. Maybe he's bewitched you to think that way; however, believe me, Mr. Potter, you would be in the wrong to think it. I'm going to arrange a questioning tomorrow morning before you take the train out of here and with the help of a truth potion, we'll find out where your Sirius Black is and put him straight back into Azkaban where the murderer belongs. What do you think of that?"

Harry wisely didn't respond, but his heart skipped a couple of beats at the thought of what could happen to Sirius if he was forced to tell where he was.

Fudge gave Harry a firm glare. "Give me your wand, Harry."

Harry tried to imagine this was his real wand so he would appear upset enough. "No, sir, please."

"Well, what's happening here?" An unforgettable voice asked from the open doorway. "Potter being punished?"

"Expelled, Severus," Fudge answered firmly. "He's been a spy for Sirius Black, telling him what's been going on at Hogwarts. They've been communicating back and forth for who knows how long. His owl was found with a letter from Black. Harry Potter is a traitor to us all and will be leaving tomorrow morning after an inquiry. Would you mind making a batch of Vertiserum for tomorrow?"

"Of course not," Snape said. He didn't have the look of happy revenge that Harry assumed he would. In fact, he gave Harry a look that was unreadable but not nasty. "May I see the letter?"

"Yes, we're almost done here, merely one more item of business. The wand, Potter."

Harry handed it over, trying to appear reluctant.

Fudge took the wand firmly, raised it over his right knee and snapped it in two with a loud crack. Harry winced at the sound and now knew how Hagrid must've felt when he had been expelled from Hogwarts and his real wand had been snapped.

Fudge handed them back to Harry. All his anger must have been taken out on the wand, for he now sounded drained and disappointed. "I don't have to give you these back, but I will," he stated. He gave the pieces to Harry, who put them into the robes of his pockets. "I also don't have to let you spend one last afternoon with your friends, but I will. At six o'clock tonight when everyone goes to dinner, you will go directly to the caretaker's office where you will be locked in until morning under his watch. Take your things with you, you won't have time tomorrow before the train comes." He paused and looked into Harry's eyes. "No one else will know of this until tomorrow morning. I am so disappointed in you, Harry. You had potential to be great. Stay out of trouble and stay away from Hogwarts. Don't even think another wizarding school will take you in, for they won't. Until tomorrow, Mr. Potter." He turned his back on Harry, signifying the end of the expulsion ceremony. Harry glanced once more at Snape, who was looking at him with that same unreadable expression. Leaving the office, Harry knew he had to get to Ron and Hermione before they went to Charms. They had to know and he needed to talk to them. He had to escape Hogwarts somehow that night before morning came and Harry would be forced to reveal Sirius's location.

He made it down to the Gryffindor common room again, only to find everyone gone. He was too late. Suddenly realizing it didn't matter a bit what he did now, he hurried off to Charms and went straight over to Ron and Hermione who had been watching the door anxiously. They both stood up when they saw him. They huddled in the back of the room.

"Harry, what happened?" Hermione whispered.

"Fred and George said they thought you were expelled!"

"Tell us what's going on!"

"I can't talk in here," Harry hissed back to them. "Let's go."

"We'll miss Charms," Hermione started to say. One more look at Harry's face, nevertheless, told her that this was beyond Charms. "Okay." Both she and Ron gathered their bags and wands and left the classroom, ignoring Professor Flitwick's squeaks of protest and the students' whispers.

Harry led the way down the hall silently and into Gryffindor Tower, mumbling "Schnitzel Noodles" to the Fat Lady. He led Ron and Hermione into his dormitory room. Spotting Hedwig sound asleep in her cage next to Harry's bed, Harry felt a mixture of concern and relief. He hoped she wasn't too ill, but at least she was back. They all sat down in the middle of the floor.

Harry sighed and told them, "Yes, I'm expelled." He went on to tell them the events that had taken place in Fudge's office.

"You still have your real wand, though?" Hermione asked to confirm this was true.

"Yes."

"I can't believe Fudge would do this!" Ron exclaimed angrily, rising from the floor and raking a hand through his hair.

"Just think about how it looks, Ron," Hermione said. "He doesn't know Sirius is innocent or anything. We know Harry shouldn't be expelled because we know things Fudge doesn't and wouldn't even believe if we tried to tell him. Harry, what are you going to do? You have to get away before the morning."

"I know," Harry replied. "Filch is going to be there all night and the door will be locked." They all sat there, thinking hard about what they could do.

"I've got it!" Ron yelled so loudly that Harry and Hermione shushed him.

He joined them on the floor again. "Fred, George, and I will make the biggest racket you ever heard outside the door. Fred does a great Peeves imitation, Filch will think it's Peeves out there, he'll rush out and hopefully leave the door open so you can make a run for it!"

"Ron, that's crazy!" Hermione snapped. "You'll all be expelled too!"

"Nah, the Weasley boys are masters at this stuff. It'll be okay; Fred and George love any chance to rile Filch. Come on, Hermione, it's for Harry." Ron's eyes pleaded her to give her support.

"All right," she hedged. "But only if I can come too!" For the first time, Ron was the one who looked like he could've hugged Hermione.

"Thanks, you guys," Harry managed over the lump forming in his throat.

The three planned that Harry should bring his invisibility cloak and stuff it under his robes. After Filch was out of the office, Harry would cast a newly learned shrinking spell on his trunk so it could be placed in Harry's pocket. His Firebolt would be waiting for him not too far from Hagrid's cabin hidden in some bushes.

Hermione and Ron grew somber again. "Harry," Hermione said, "he can't do this to you. You're a fifth year, a good student; O.W.L.s are this year. Hogwarts won't be the same without you at all! What are we going to do?"

"Who am I going to complain about Hermione to now?" Ron asked with a forced grin.

"Who am I going to turn to every time Ron infuriates me and makes fun of me?" Hermione asked, shooting daggers at Ron. Her eyes suddenly lit up as a new thought came to mind. "Where are you going to go?"

"I guess I'll have to try and find Professor Lupin's house and stay with him and Sirius. I have no idea where he lives is the problem."

"Maybe Hagrid knows!" Ron mentioned.

"We can't tell Hagrid about my being expelled or the plan. He can't be involved or know anything; otherwise, he'd be in real trouble. He doesn't know about Sirius anyway. You two can clear everything up with him after I'm gone," Harry instructed seriously.

"Yeah, I guess that's best," Ron replied, looking slightly doubtful. "We could maybe still ask if he knows, though. Say we want to write to him or something."

"That sounds all right," Hermione approved. "Harry?"

"Okay. I should hurry and pack and I have to try the shrinking spell to make sure I can do it later. Help me out, it'll go faster."

The three tossed all of Harry's possessions into the trunk, leaving only the invisibility cloak and the Firebolt on the bed.

"Let's fold up the cloak. It's got to be small or Filch might find it," Ron suggested. It took a quarter of an hour for the friends to get the cloak folded into the size of a galleon. It kept unfolding and slipping from their grasp. When the deed was done, Harry placed it carefully into the pocket of his robe. He took the fake wand pieces out of his other robe pocket and, after taking his wand from the trunk, set them on fire in the wastebasket to destroy the evidence of them. He put the fire out with water from his wand and turned to his trunk. "There! Let me try the Shrinking Spell now." He took a breath and yelled, "Pequito gradualmenta!" The trunk got smaller and smaller and when it reached the right size for a pocket, Harry tapped it with his wand. He grinned and raised his wand once more. "Engorgio gradualmenta!" When the trunk was its normal size, Harry tapped it again and put his wand in between two of his school robes on top of the trunk's contents.

"I can't believe they're expelling you," Hermione murmured. "You know the only way you're going to be able to get back into Hogwarts?"

"How?"

"Find Pettigrew."

Harry snorted but not rudely. "That's easy enough. I'd just have to get past Voldemort, the Death Eaters, possibly a dementor or two, and kidnap him."

"If anyone could do it, you could, Harry," Hermione said encouragingly.

Ron added, "If you need help, we're here. If Fudge expels us for leaving, he'll have to reinstate us along with you because we were helping bring in a criminal and proving a man innocent."

Harry smiled at his friend. "I will definitely remember that. I'll get back into Hogwarts somehow."

"You'll get through this, Harry," Hermione told him with tears brimming in her eyes. "We'll send owls and tell you about new stuff we learn. It'll be like a correspondence course or something."

"Hermione, we're his friends, not his teachers," Ron reminded.

Harry looked at his watch. "Whoa, we'd better get to Hagrid's if we're going at all."

In the hall going out to the common room, some of the Gryffindor boys sniggered at Hermione's presence in their dormitory. The three ignored them and continued out.

Ginny was out there and ran over to them when she saw them. "Harry, is what Fred and George told me true? Are you expelled?"

"Yes," Harry replied directly.

Ginny gasped and she grabbed his hand. "You can't leave, how did this happen?"

Harry looked at her and said, "Ginny, I can't explain now. Ron and Hermione will tell you and I promise I'll keep in touch." He started to continue walking but Ginny kept her grip on his hand.

"I promise, Ginny."

She burst into tears and scurried to the girls' dormitory.

"She'll be okay," Hermione told Harry. "We have to get to Hagrid's or you'll never make it to Filch's on time."

The three walked down to Hagrid's, very depressed and tense with thoughts about the evening that lay ahead.

Ron knocked on the door and Hagrid opened it right away. His face broke into a grin and Harry felt a pang, not knowing when he'd see that grin again.

"Hello, you three," Hagrid greeted kindly. "I was hopin' I'd see yeh today. Haven't seen yeh fer a bit."

"We can't stay long, Hagrid," Hermione replied. "Actually, we have a question to ask you." Hermione was not one to dance around a subject.

"Well, come in, then. How abou' some rock cakes? Made 'em fresh today."

"That's okay, Hagrid," Ron answered hastily, settling on the couch. "Dinner's coming up."

"I might have one," Harry added. He didn't know when he'd get a rock cake again, and this was his last chance for a while.

Hagrid handed him one eagerly from a large stack and sat down by the fire. "So what did yeh want ter ask me?"

"Do you know where Professor Lupin lives?" Ron asked. "We want to write to him and say hello."

Hagrid thought for a moment, wrinkling his large forehead. "I'm sorry, I don't really know. Somewhere in South London."

"You don't know a street name or anything?" Hermione pressed.

"Nah. I remember it was a small house with a green door, in the middle of a field, but that's all."

Harry groaned inwardly. He was going to be doing a lot of flying around tonight. He knew an owl would never get to Sirius in time and he couldn't risk the message being caught or the situation would become much worse.

"Well, thanks anyway, Hagrid," Hermione answered, sounding disappointed.

"What do yeh need his address for anyway?" Hagrid asked, puzzled. "An owl would get ter him all righ'."

"Hedwig isn't feeling well, any jobs I give her have to be easy ones." Harry explained.

"Pig would get lost," Ron chimed in.

"What abou' the school owls?" Hagrid asked.

Suddenly, Hermione stood up. "Er, we have to get back in for dinner. We'll visit you again tomorrow."

"All righ', see yeh then," Hagrid replied, looking a bit confused.

"See you," Ron and Hermione said together and turned toward the door.

"Bye, Hagrid," Harry said, trying to talk over that lump in his throat that had appeared again. He, too, turned toward the door but was stopped by Hagrid's massive hand on his shoulder.

"Somethin' wrong, Harry?" His kind eyes were full of concern.

"Well, yeah, but I can't talk about it right now. You'll hear about it all tomorrow."

"If that's what yeh want."

"Yeah. Well, er, see you, Hagrid." Harry walked quickly to the door before Hagrid could stop him again and the three headed toward the castle.

"Harry, you'd better get your stuff and get to Filch's office now. There's not much time left before six," Ron informed him. The three stopped walking and looked at each other.

Hermione lost it first, eyes spilling over. "Harry, you just can't go! This isn't right!" She hugged him so tightly he felt his face would pop.

He managed to grunt, "I'll be back." He tried to sound more convinced than he felt.

Ron said, "All right, Hermione, don't break his ribs now." She released her death grip on Harry and wiped at her eyes. Ron appeared a tad bright-eyed and he thumped Harry on the arm. "Send owls, okay?"

Harry nodded solemnly all three of them speed-walked into the castle, unable to speak further.

Hermione disappeared into the girls' dormitory and Ron joined Harry in their dorm room. Harry left his Firebolt on the bed for Ron to hide for later that night. Ron didn't say anything as he picked up Hedwig's cage to carry to Filch's office.

In the hall, however, as they got closer to the office, Ron whispered, "Maybe you can go to The Burrow. Mum and Dad would keep quiet."

"I can't get your family in trouble, Ron. Fudge basically ordered me to never be found in the wizarding world again and everyone would be in trouble if I went to your house."

"I guess you're right," Ron murmured. He changed the subject to hide his disappointment. "Be ready for the plan to take place. If something goes wrong, just stay in the office and we'll come for you."

"Thanks, Ron. Thanks a lot. You'll explain to everyone for me, right?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it." They reached Filch's office and set down Harry's things in front of the door. "Harry," Ron began hesitantly, "you're the best friend I've ever had."

"You're mine too," Harry replied sincerely. He and Ron looked at each other for a moment.

Ron cleared his throat and said, "We'll write to Sirius right after dinner's over to tell him you're coming. It ought to get there by tomorrow morning. Good luck." With one last glance at his friend, he took off down the hall in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.

Harry watched him disappear and then reluctantly knocked on Filch's door. Filch flung it open and smiled nastily at Harry.

"Welcome, Potter. Glad you could make it. Bring in your things." He glanced at Hedwig. "What's wrong with your owl?"

"I don't know, she's sick with something."

"I guess we'd better give her your dinner tonight then. She looks like she needs it." Filch placed Hedwig's cage on his desk and stuck a plate of hot, wonderful-smelling food inside.

Harry's mouth almost started watering; it had been a while since lunch. He knew Filch wanted him to complain so he kept quiet. Hedwig probably needed food more than he did anyhow.

"Move your trunk more in the corner, I don't want your things cluttering up my office. I worked hard to get where I am today," Filch nagged pompously.

Harry almost sniggered despite the situation but stopped himself in time.

"Well, Potter, I have to go start the evening clean-up. Just to make sure you don't get loose, I'm going to have to use these," Filch said, a mad gleam in his eye, gesturing toward chains on the wall.

"I won't try to escape," Harry insisted.

"Somehow I don't believe you. You're a tricky one and it's about time you got expelled." He jammed Harry's wrists into the chains that forced him to hang from the wall, the tips of his toes barely touching the floor. "Have a good evening," Filch chortled as he left the room.

Harry spent the evening trying to focus on the plan for the evening and what he had to do. If Filch left him in chains, how would he get away? He'd have to reach his wand, which was in the left inside pocket of his cloak. This was not looking good. He'd have to convince Filch that he was trustworthy enough to be allowed to sleep on the floor. A few hours later, Filch came back to the office. Harry's wrists were raw from the tight chains and his stomach was rumbling. Hedwig had eaten all of the food and had fallen into a deep sleep.

"So, Potter, how are we?"

Harry didn't reply, which Filch seemed to think amusing. "I ought to just leave you like that all night."

A voice came from the doorway. "Enjoying yourself, Filch?" Snape stepped into the room, eyes on Harry. "I agree that is a worthy position for Mr. Potter and he deserves nothing better to be stuck that way, but bruised wrists and exhaustion won't be good for the hearing in the morning. He's better off on the floor under your watch."

"Since you put it that way, Professor," Filch said, using a key to unlock Harry's shackles. Harry's legs were like spaghetti noodles and they wobbled underneath him when his feet completely touched the floor.

Snape ordered, "Leave me alone with him for a moment."

"Of course." Filch left his office at once, closing the door behind him.

Snape pointed a glare at Harry. "Sit, Potter." Harry sat, rubbing his wrists, wondering what Snape was going to do.

Professor Snape put his hands behind his back and stood before Harry. "You know, Potter, that I would love to see you expelled for your normal tricks. However, Dumbledore has informed me that Sirius Black is not a murderer and is no real harm to Hogwarts," he sneered unpleasantly. "Minister Fudge wouldn't exactly understand that, so you can see that your being expelled is the only choice you have. I wish it were under different circumstances. I wish you were being punished for something you deserved."

Harry wasn't sure what to make of all this. He knew nothing would normally make Snape happier than for Harry to be expelled.

Snape continued, "Potter, your being expelled is going to take you away from the protection of Hogwarts. I don't want you doing anything stupid and messing up the mission. Stay out of the wizarding world. Understand?"

Harry answered coolly, "I can't promise to stay out of the wizarding world. It's where I belong. I can promise that I won't do anything to mess up the mission, though. No one wants this to succeed more than I do." He hesitated to ask this next question, but thought Snape might know the answer and couldn't resist. "Sir, do you know where Professor Dumbledore is?"

"Why? Are you going to run to him crying about the unfairness of it all?"

"No," Harry retorted, "I'd just like to know how he is."

Snape simmered down fractionally. "He's fine. I don't know where he is, but he sends owls from time-to-time asking for updates on the school. Is that all, Potter? If so, I'd like to go and prepare tomorrow's lesson for those who are still students here." He left Filch's office with a bang of the door.

Harry was marveling over the fact that this was as nice as Professor Snape had ever been to him. He paced the room to get his legs back in working order until Filch came back in.

"You can sleep next to your trunk in the corner there," Filch directed. "No tricks, I'll be watching."

"No, sir." Harry lay down flat on the hardwood floor but wasn't about to go to sleep. He closed his eyes anyway and tried to keep his face blank. He felt Filch's eyes resting on him smugly.

What seemed like only a few minutes later, Harry heard loud crashes in the hall and what sounded like Peeves laughing. Fred Weasley/Peeves taunted, "Catch me if you can, Filchy!"

Filch leapt from the chair and opened the door wide just as a vase hit the floor and shattered. "I'll get you this time, Peeves!" He shouted, disregarding his duty to guard Harry and running down the hall.

Harry sprang to his feet, collected his wand, and performed the Shrinking Spell on his trunk, putting it in his pocket. He grabbed Hedwig's cage and threw the invisibility cloak over himself and Hedwig. He dashed outside onto the school grounds and called hoarsely, "Accio Firebolt!" It soared toward him and he clambered on, hooked Hedwig's cage handle over the stick, adjusted the invisibility cloak to cover the broom, and flew into the sky above Hogwarts. Harry hovered for a moment, gazing down at the place he thought of as "home". When would he see it again? Would he ever walk down the halls and go to classes there again? He sighed and flew away from the school.

Harry's thoughts turned to finding South London. He decided he would fly close to the Hogwarts Express tracks and get to Kings Cross that way. For one wild moment, he thought he could take the Muggle train into South London, but reconsidered when he realized that he had no Muggle money and would look quite strange with an owl and a broom on the train. No, Harry was by far safer flying.

He allowed the tracks to lead him on the long way to Kings Cross. He was nearly overpowered with fatigue, it was nearly two o'clock in the morning and he hadn't eaten since lunchtime, unless you counted his nibbling at Hagrid's rock cake, which he didn't. Hedwig awoke and hooted sleepily, looking at the surroundings with vague interest. Harry stopped outside the train station to hide Hedwig's cage and the Firebolt under the invisibility cloak. He wanted to find a map and a bathroom so he could splash some cold water on his face. "I'll be back in a few minutes, Hedwig. Be quiet." Hedwig suddenly hooted urgently. Harry shushed her before he discovered what she'd been hooting at. He was still in his robes! Harry sighed, taking off his robes, revealing a Weasley sweater and a pair of Muggle jeans.

Harry laid his robes under the invisibility cloak as well and walked toward the station. It was nearly empty. He found the bathroom right away and was amazed at how refreshing a mere bit of water could be. He studied a map on the wall; trying to ignore two rough-looking Muggles dressed in rags down the corridor.

"Hey, ickle boy, where's yer mum & dad? They leave yeh alone?"

"Got any money?"

"Yeh lost in big bad London?"

Harry used his finger to trace a route into South London that seemed promising. Once he arrived there, the only problem would be locating Lupin's house. He wondered if it was in a wizard community or not. Suddenly, Harry had an idea! He didn't know how he'd ever forgotten about the Knight Bus! He could simply go into a London street and stick out his wand hand and the bus would pick him up. Surely that would be much better than trying to find his way by air. Just as suddenly as the idea had come, Harry's plan lost its momentum. No one was supposed to know where he was. That was part of running away. "Get some sleep, Potter," he thought. "You're not thinking straight." He turned to head back toward the wooded area next to the station where his things were when a rough hand grabbed his shoulder, swinging him around.

"I asked yeh, do yeh have any money? Yeh look like one o' them pretty boys with lots of money in yer pockets," a squinty-eyed man challenged.

"No, I don't," Harry replied. It was mostly true; he had no money that would be of use to the man.

"Well, I think yeh got some and we're going to find it!" The man continued, grabbing Harry's other arm to hold him steady. His sniggering friend came over and started digging in Harry's pockets. When Harry tried to struggle, he received a hard punch in the stomach that made him double over.

"Yeh just try that again, boy," the squinty-eyed man threatened.

"No money on this one," another man reported.

"Let's do it," the squinty-eyed man ordered. He and his friend began to beat him, kicking and hitting him hard. Harry struggled but was basically helpless, weak from not eating and without his wand; he didn't have much of a chance against the two men who were much bigger than he was. Suddenly, something sharp was plunged into Harry's stomach and then ripped back out. He caught glimpse of a long knife with a jeweled handle. Harry fell flat on his face, panting and in excruciating pain. He'd had worse, but this was pretty bad.

"That's why yeh always bring money with yeh," one of the men said. He and his friend ran down the corridor chortling. Harry could only lay on the floor, he hurt so badly. He knew his stomach wound was a serious one. He could see his own blood streaming out from under him and the Kings Cross station hall was becoming dimmer and dimmer. After all he'd been through with Voldemort and survived, was he going to die by the hand of a Muggle? Just as everything was going black, he saw the shadow of someone rushing toward him.

The next afternoon, Harry woke up to a lot of noise. He opened his eyes slowly and tried to sit up. That was a mistake, however. Even as he began to raise his head, he fell back against the pillow. The events of the night before came back to him and he realized the reason he was so sore. He felt bandages covering him all over and noticed an I.V. sticking into his arm. Looking around the room he was in, Harry figured that he was in the hospital. "It must be a Muggle hospital," he thought, catching glimpses of Muggle doctors and nurses hurrying through the hall outside his open door.

A blonde woman poked her head into his doorway. "So, I see you've decided to come back to the living. How do you feel?"

"Sore," Harry croaked. He started to ask a question, but the woman went on.

"I'm sure you are, you're in a sorry state. For one, you were badly beaten, which would have been enough. On top of that, you were stabbed in the stomach, the worst place to be stabbed, at that. We had to perform immediate surgery to repair the stomach wall. Miraculously, the knife didn't harm any of your other organs." The woman paused. "I'm Doctor Wheeler. I was at Kings Cross last night to meet someone, and that's when I found you. Too bad I didn't find the ones who did this to you." She shook her head. "The violence these days is terrible." She came farther into the room and poured a glass of water for Harry from a pitcher. "When did you eat last?"

"Not since lunch yesterday," he replied, his stomach growling at the thought of food.

"It's not safe for you to eat solid foods right now, but you can sip water every now and then," the doctor said, setting the glass at his bedside, going out into the busy hall for a moment to talk to a nurse. She re-entered and sat down on Harry's bed, taking out a notepad.

"I have several questions for you, young man. First of all, what's your name?"

"Harry Potter." He hoped giving his real name wasn't a mistake.

"Age?"

"Fifteen."

"Where are you from?" Harry didn't reply to that one, and the doctor raised her eyebrows. "I see...." Her eyes moved down to his bruised wrists from the chains in Filch's office, and she frowned at him. "Were you catching a train last night?"

"No, I just stopped there to look at the map and those two guys attacked me when they found out I didn't have any money."

Dr. Wheeler tsked. "Is there someone waiting for you somewhere?"

Harry realized suddenly that Sirius would probably have gotten Ron and Hermione's owl by now. He would wonder where Harry was. What if he went out to look for him? He'd be caught and it would all Harry's fault. Harry struggled to sit up, even though pain burned through him.

"Whoa, what do you think you're doing?" Dr. Wheeler exclaimed, holding him back down on the bed.

"I have to get out of here! My godfather needs to know where I am," Harry said, still fighting.

"Lie back, we'll take care of it. Where does he live?"

"Er, I don't exactly know right now; I was on my way to find him." Harry did lay back against the sheets. His stomach and chest ached even more from his efforts and dizziness washed over him.

"See, I told you, just lie there and be still. All right, you were on your way to find him, where were you going?"

"I was going to try parts of London," Harry half-explained.

"Which parts?"

"Different parts," Harry said evasively.

The doctor threw back her head and laughed. "You are a very interesting young man, Mr. Potter. I take it that you're not going to tell me anymore at the moment."

Harry gave a crooked smile in response.

"Well, that's fine for now. Don't worry about your godfather; either he'll find you or you can find him in a few days. You need to stay here a while so we can care for you, you really are in bad shape. I'll be back in to see you in a few hours. You're going to get fresh bandages put on and some medication. Remember," she said, rising to her feet, "don't move from that bed."

He drank small amounts of water absentmindedly, his mind was full of worries about Sirius, Hedwig, his wand, and his trunk still in the woods at Kings Cross covered with the invisibility cloak. A while later, a nurse came in and gave Harry something that sent him into dreamless sleep.

At Remus Lupin's house, Sirius Black was pacing the floor anxiously holding a piece of parchment in his hand and looking out the window every few seconds.

Remus Lupin was sitting in a chair nearby with a worried expression on his face. He broke the tense silence. "Sirius, perhaps he simply got lost."

Sirius stopped pacing and stared at Remus. "He's been gone from Hogwarts nearly twenty-four hours now. Harry should've gotten here by this morning. Even if he didn't know for sure where you lived. He would've just had to use the Four-Point spell and look for a green door. It would've taken a while, certainly, but he should have gotten here by this time. Something's happened, I feel it. I can't believe Fudge would risk sending Harry out of Hogwarts where he's no longer protected. It's bad enough he fired Dumbledore, but now this," Sirius mused disgustedly.

"Sirius, we don't know what's happened, you're merely concerned for Harry and imagining the worst. He'll turn up." Remus hoped he sounded more positive than he felt.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "James was my best friend, I'm Harry's godfather; he's practically my son now. He ran off so that he wouldn't be forced to tell where I was, and it'll be my fault if anything happens to him." Sirius resumed pacing and looking out the window.

Remus didn't know what to say, so he sat back in his chair silently, dreading what might have happened to Harry. As long as Voldemort was back and the Death Eaters active once more, Harry was in danger, and, unprotected....

At the hospital later that evening, Harry woke up only to find Dr. Wheeler and two nurses in his room. He felt hot and feverish.

"Harry," Dr. Wheeler began, "your wound has become infected. You have a high fever. We're going to give you some medicine, so just lay back a minute.

Harry obeyed, too sick to do anything else. The doctor's and nurses' face swam before him and as he felt an injection into his arm, he slipped into unconsciousness.

At Hogwarts late that night, Ron was lying awake in his dorm, wondering if Harry had made it to Remus's all right when he heard a soft but urgent barking coming from the grounds below. He tiptoed over to the window and saw Sirius, in his dog form.

"Just a minute," Ron whispered loudly out the window. He threw on his robes and ran outside quickly. If Sirius was here, that meant something had gone wrong.

The black dog, seeing Ron outside, led him at top speed over to the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. The dog transformed himself back into human form.

"Sirius, what are you doing here? Is Harry okay?"

"I don't know," Sirius replied grimly. "He hasn't shown up yet. Tell me, Ron, do you have any idea what he was planning to do, how he was going to get to Remus's?"

"I'm not sure, he could have followed the Hogwarts Express tracks, though. That would probably be the best way."

"Then, he may not have used the four-point spell the entire time," Sirius mused. "I'll try following the tracks, then. I'll be in touch." He transformed back into a dog and ran off toward the train tracks.

Ron stood there, mystified. What had happened to Harry?

Nurses had been in and out of Harry's room all night long. It was now the following afternoon. "His fever is so high, nothing we've done has brought it down at all," one nurse told Dr. Wheeler outside the room. "He's delirious, I think."

Harry was mumbling and tossing his head side to side. He was having the strangest dreams, but they seemed so real. Voldemort was standing in the center of hundreds of Death Eaters, all chanting something in unison that Harry couldn't make out. The next thing, Voldemort was standing beside his bed, reaching down, tracing a finger over Harry's scar, making it disappear. Suddenly Harry was floating in the air, floating up to the sky. Visions of his father and mother standing on clouds came into focus. "Mum! Dad!" He called out loud, in the dream and in real life.

Dr. Wheeler felt his forehead and found the boy's scar was much hotter than anywhere else. "How strange," she mused. She walked down the hall to find a nurse to resume trying to bring Harry's fever down.

A black dog wandered into a wooded area next to Kings Cross at daybreak. He jumped into a small stream of water to help his tired and blistered paws. The dog lapped up water for a few minutes, and, after he finished, felt tremendously better. He climbed back onto the bank and went in the direction of the station. Suddenly, he paused, hearing a muffled noise. Had that been an owl? Was it Hedwig? Was Harry nearby?

The black dog took off like a shot and almost immediately, crashed into something invisible that caused a loud squawking. Turning back into human form, Sirius felt for the invisibility cloak's edge, finding Harry's robes, Firebolt, and his owl, Hedwig. "Where's Harry?" He asked Hedwig, even though he knew she could not answer. She was staring at him indignantly for knocking her cage over, feathers ruffled. Sirius took off his robes to reveal Muggle clothing. He covered Harry's things and his robes once more with the invisibility cloak and walked briskly toward the station.

Sirius went straight to the ticket desk, ignoring the line of people. He barged in front of a short, balding man and asked the ticket seller, "Have you seen a young boy here since last night? Fifteen, black hair, green eyes, glasses?"

"Good Lord," the Muggle said, "is he yours? A boy was attacked here last night and was taken to St. James Hospital."

Sirius's heart moved into his throat. Harry had been attacked? By who? It was an interesting coincidence that he'd been taken to St. James Hospital. Perhaps too interesting of a coincidence.

"Is he all right?"

"Don't know. I haven't heard from the hospital."

"How do I get there?"

"Go left down this road four blocks, turn right at the first chance, then left. Go straight six more blocks, and you'll be there."

Harry stirred in his sleep, moaning. Dr. Wheeler was watching him carefully. The young man's fever had actually risen and there was nothing the medical staff could do for him but wait. "Sirius!" Harry yelled suddenly. The doctor shook her head, stood up, and taking one more glance at Harry, entered the hall holding her clipboard tightly.

Harry was having another dream. He was walking toward a large house that looked familiar somehow. All of a sudden, Death Eaters began pouring out the front door. Harry went for his wand, but it wasn't there. He heard the Death Eaters laughing cruelly as they came closer. Just then, Sirius Black came up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Harry."

Harry became aware of himself being shaken and a voice saying, "It's okay, Harry. I'll get you out of here. Wake up."

"No, no," Harry groaned.

"Harry, come on. You're not safe here," the voice urged. "Open your eyes and look at me."

Harry wanted to obey, come out of his sleep, but he couldn't. It was as if a barrier was keeping him from reaching the voice.

Sirius had sneaked into the hospital and found Harry rather by accident, he heard him say his name during what must have been a dream. Upon entering the room, he had gasped when he saw Harry. He was covered in cuts and bruises, bandages all over, and tubes going into his arms. "Whoever did this will pay," he thought. Later. Now, he was simply trying to waken Harry enough to get out of the hospital.

Harry realized that the voice was Sirius's and he tried desperately to break through the barrier that kept him from reaching consciousness. "Sirius!" He called aloud. "Sirius, help me!" Harry was now partially having another dream. He was slowly walking toward a huge brick wall, when he saw the figure of his father. "Dad," he whispered.

Sirius started when he heard Harry's whisper. "Harry, is James with you?" He was afraid that Harry's seeing James might mean Harry was close to death.

James Potter smiled at his son as he came nearer. "My son, your mother and I are so proud of you. We love you and wish we could be with you. However, our lives on Earth have ended and you're still alive, with much to do. All you need to do is climb this wall, and you can go back to do the things you are meant to do. You're not ready to leave Earth yet, Harry. Go back. Climb the wall."

"Dad, I want to stay with you," Harry said.

James smiled. "No, son. Not yet. You must go back. Sirius is waiting for you on the other side, he'll take care of you."

"I miss you," Harry told James. "Let me come with you."

James shook his head sadly and he and Harry embraced for a long time. "I'll give you a boost, but you have to climb on your own." He knelt down, one knee out for Harry to step up on. "Up you go."

Harry put a foot up reluctantly. "When can I be with you and Mum?"

"Someday," James answered. "But not now."

Harry struggled to reach the top of the wall with his hands to pull himself over. He managed to get on top of the wall. He paused and looked down at James and said the three words he'd never been able to. "I love you."

Lily Potter appeared next to James, taking his arm. They said together, "And we love you." Harry stared at them until they vanished, then vaulted the wall.

His eyes opened suddenly, blurry with tears. He saw Sirius on his knees next to the bed, head down on the covers. "Sirius?"

Sirius's head jerked up quickly. "Harry!" He leapt to his feet and hugged Harry fiercely, causing Harry to cry out in pain. "Oh, sorry, sorry. I thought you were dying, you said James's name and I thought that meant you were going to him in death."

"I saw him! We talked to each other! I said I wanted to stay with him, but he wouldn't let me. There was this wall he told me I had to climb and come back here. He said you were waiting for me on the other side. I didn't want to, but he made me. I got to the top of the wall and then Mum came. I actually had a conversation with my father," Harry gibbered urgently even though he was in pain. He hurt worse than before and the pain in his stomach was suddenly so intense that he leaned over with an anguished shout.

Sirius became immediately alarmed. "Harry, what--?"

He was interrupted by the door to Harry's room being flung open wide. Dr. Wheeler stepped in, eyes on Sirius. "What are you doing here?"

Sirius ignored the question and replied, "Help him, he's in pain!"

Dr. Wheeler stepped closer, eyes glowing strangely. "He should be," she said. Then, she shocked them both by transforming her doctor's coat to Death Eater's robes.

Harry and Sirius gasped in surprise. "Harry, get out of here now!"

"I can't! I can't move," Harry groaned, hand frozen to his stomach, which had begun to bleed again.

"Mr. Potter is absolutely correct," the Death Eater said from under her cloak. "He cannot move. He was stabbed with a poisoned knife tip last night and is even now letting the poison into his bloodstream. He's nearly completely helpless now. I thought he would have submitted to the poison earlier, but I guess I underestimated him." The Death Eater walked over to Harry's bedside and grabbed a handful of his hair.

Sirius drew his wand and was about to curse the Death Eater when he suddenly was frozen by the full body-bind curse uttered by the hooded figure. He watched, helpless, as she jerked Harry's head up so that he had to look up at her.

"Not so strong now, are you? And you don't have your wand this time either. My master will reward me inconceivably for capturing you. Prepare to meet with the Dark Lord for the final time."

To Sirius's horror, the Death Eater disapparated with Harry. What could he do now? He was a wooden statue with his eyes the only working body parts. Nothing could have surprised him more than what happened next. Remus Lupin walked in the hospital room door, held his wand at Sirius, and said the countercurse to free Sirius from his wooden state.

"They've taken Harry! We have to find them!" He cried urgently the moment he could speak.

"I know where they've gone. Come on, here's a portkey," Remus instructed. The two friends grabbed onto the stapler at the same time and wound up in a grassy meadow. "Get down, there they are," Remus hissed, pulling Sirius to the ground.

Harry was on a magical stretcher, chains magicked around his body. He didn't appear to be moving. Sirius and Remus crawled through the tall meadow grass on their hands and knees. "Do you have a plan?" Sirius asked Remus.

"Not really."

"Great."

Remus thought for a second. "Come, let's disarm her. Voldemort's not in the vicinity right now, I don't think. The Death Eater must be headed to a hiding place. I'll disarm her, you stun her, and we'll get Harry and use the portkey to get out of here. Sound all right?"

"As long as it works," Sirius agreed grimly.

"Expelliarmus!" Remus yelled, he and Sirius running to get closer. The Death Eater spun around, her wand flying through the air. Sirius stunned him, while Remus took control of Harry's stretcher.

"Grab the portkey...now!" Remus ordered. The two men plus Harry were transported back into the hospital room.

"Alohomora," Sirius said, pointing his wand at the padlock that locked the chains around Harry. The lock sprung open and the chains slipped off.

"Harry, wake up! Come on, we have to go, now." Sirius said, gently but urgently shaking Harry's motionless form. "Blast it, what did the Death Eater say, he was receiving the poison even now in his bloodstream? Poison from a knife tip?"

Remus Lupin studied Harry for a moment, in deep thought, before he ripped the already bloody bandage from over the stab wound in his stomach.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked, on the verge of panicking. Harry's chest was just barely rising and falling anymore.

Remus took a knife out of his robes and tore open the stitched-up wound without a moment's hesitation.

"Remus, what the devil are you doing?" Blood gushed from the newly opened slash.

"We have to apparate now," Remus said, ignoring Sirius's questions. "Take my arm and hold onto Harry."

Before Sirius knew what was happening, they were in a small cabin. He saw Albus Dumbledore sitting in a chair, who immediately jumped up and rushed to Harry's side.

"Poisoned?" He asked, face pale.

"Yes," Remus replied.

"How long?"

"Nearly twenty-four hours."

Dumbledore took out his own wand, pointed it at Harry's bleeding wound, laid a hand on Harry's forehead, and closed his eyes, murmuring in a foreign language.

A strange, gold light filled the room, making Sirius squint. It grew so bright that Sirius had to close his eyes completely. When the light faded and Sirius re-opened his eyes to look down at Harry, the stab wound was completely gone as were his other cuts, bruises, and bumps. He goggled down at Harry and then at Dumbledore in amazement.

Dumbledore looked suddenly feeble, like he might pass out. Remus and Sirius noticed this at the same time and grabbed his underarms, leading him back to his chair.

They let him catch his breath before Sirius asked, "What did you do to him? Is he cured?"

"I performed an old charm on him that took some of my life energy and transferred it into his body in order to heal him completely and quickly. He ought to be unconscious for a while yet, he's been through quite a bit of trauma, but he'll be fine." Dumbledore's color returned and he looked like his normal self again.

Glancing between Sirius and Remus, he asked, "What are you going to do with Harry now since he's been expelled?"

"What do you recommend?" Sirius asked. He, personally, wanted to keep Harry with him.

"His uncle and aunt are out of the question. He's no longer any safer there than anywhere else, and I want Harry in the wizarding world, for reasons that I cannot reveal to you." Dumbledore stroked his beard for a moment. "If he stays with you, you'll have to take him into hiding and keep an eye on him day and night, but I daresay neither of you are about to let anything happen to him. He'd be safe with me, but I never know where I'll have to go or what I'll have to do. Harry is better off staying with you for the time being. Is that agreeable to you both?"

Remus and Sirius nodded fervently without even looking at each other.

"Now," Dumbledore continued, "Sirius, I want you to take Harry, get his things from Kings Cross, and fly back to Remus's house. Pack warm Muggle clothing and many blankets. Remus, I have some instructions to give you, so you stay here a while longer, then join Sirius and Harry at your house."

Dumbledore rose from his chair and walked over to Harry's still form on the stretcher. He gazed at the boy for a moment before lifting him. He motioned Sirius over and set Harry on his feet, propping him up into Sirius's arms. Dumbledore raised his wand and placed it over Harry's head. "Enervate, gradualmenta," he said to Harry, who began to stir slightly. To Sirius he handed him a cassette tape and ordered, "Use this portkey to get to the Kings Cross woods. Good luck."

Back in the wooded area at King's Cross, Harry woke up, although groggy and achy. "What happened after the Death Eater?"

Sirius explained as briefly as he could.

"Wow, Dumbledore did that?"

Sirius nodded, thoughts full of worries and concerns about the Death Eaters, Voldemort, and Harry's safety. He uncovered his and Harry's cloaks, Hedwig and her cage, and the Firebolt. "Harry, where's your trunk?" He asked.

Harry grinned tiredly. "I shrunk it. It's in the pockets of my robes."

Sirius smiled back. "You are a fifth year, aren't you?" He gave Harry his robes and put his own back on over his clothes. Sirius picked up the Firebolt and puzzled over what to do. He didn't think Harry should fly, but he was a bit hesitant about flying the Firebolt himself. He hadn't flown in a long time.

Harry seemed to sense his reluctance and stepped forward, taking the broom from Sirius. "It's okay, Sirius. I think I can fly."

Sirius furrowed his brow. "Are you sure, Harry? You've been through a lot. You almost died tonight!"

"Almost. But I didn't," Harry corrected, thinking about seeing his mother and father. He'd had many dreams during the fever, but that was the only one he remembered clearly. He became quiet and, hooking Hedwig's cage handle back over the broomstick, Harry got on the broom. Sirius got on behind him, draping the invisibility cloak over them.

"Just go straight ahead until I tell you which way to turn," Sirius instructed, trying not to look at the ground moving speedily below.

"Sirius," Harry began, "why did Voldemort go after my parents like that, dead-set on it? I know he killed a lot of people, but why did he single them out?"

"Harry, I don't want to talk about this," Sirius stated firmly.

Harry spun around, making the broom swerve. "Why? I need to know! I want to know what they had to die for."

Sirius remained tight-lipped.

The Firebolt swerved again. "Sirius, please!" Harry turned to face forward once more. "In my dream, Dad basically said that their lives were meant to be over; how did he know? What did they do?"

The broom dived, making Sirius declare, "Harry, watch what you're doing for Merlin's sake!"

"Just tell me about it."

Sirius answered sharply, "I won't discuss this with you! Not now!"

"Fine," Harry said just as sharply. He then flew the Firebolt faster than it had ever gone before, wishing to speed away from his anger and heartache about his parents.

Sirius's own anger was wild inside him. He couldn't tell Harry about James and Lily. It wasn't the right time. When Harry needed to know, he would tell him. If the boy couldn't handle this, it was his own tough luck. A while later, his anger dissipated. Harry merely wanted to know why his parents had to die, why his life had been so messed up by Lord Voldemort. He felt a bit foolish at his reaction and said Harry's name to get his attention.

Harry ignored him, not trusting himself to speak and kept flying at light speed. Since seeing his parents, he was filled with an aching desire to be with them and was intensely curious about what happened to them before Voldemort.

Sirius's refusal to tell him anything was truly knawing at him. Here was a man who could tell him anything he wanted to know about James and Lily, yet he was as closed-mouthed as a clam. All of a sudden, his scar sent searing pain throughout his head then coursing through his whole body. He screamed in pain and the Firebolt took a downward plummet. Harry tried to grip the broomstick, but the pain was so fierce that he couldn't keep an intelligent thought in his head. He let go of the broom and fell down into blackness.

"Harry!" Sirius yelled, trying to hang onto the invisibility cloak, get control of the Firebolt, and recall the correct charm used to slow down action. "Despaciamenta!" He called, pointing his wand around the area he'd seen Harry fall. He had no idea if it had worked or not. He forced the broom to land, dropped it, and searched furiously for Harry. He heard anguished cries from somewhere, but he couldn't tell where they were coming from in the inky blackness. Sirius waded in tall grass toward the general sound of Harry's voice, but didn't see him.

"Harry!" He hissed. He didn't know how close Muggles were just then and couldn't risk their being spotted. If it got back to the Ministry, both he and Harry could quite possibly be thrown into Azkaban together.

"Over here. Thanks for slowing me down," Harry croaked from behind a rock. He'd scraped his head on it lightly when he fell, not helping the pain any. The scar had begun to hurt a bit less but was still throbbing.

Sirius dashed over to Harry, lying curled up in the grass, clutching his scar. The right side of his face was bloody from his contact with the rock.

"Your scar?"

"Yes."

"That must've been Voldemort finding out about his plan failing. He wants you back."

"But he won't get me back," Harry answered, breathing heavily. "I'll kill him before that happens."

Sirius gaped at Harry in surprise and anger. "If you think I'm going to let you fight Voldemort, you're very much mistaken! You're lucky to have escaped last time."

"I don't recall asking your permission," Harry retorted, struggling to sit up. "He killed my parents, I'll kill him. That's one thing I've decided for sure tonight. In my dream, I knew this was what I'm meant to do. I didn't die as a baby because I have to kill him, I have to." He grew increasingly upset, the intensity of his emotions making his head reel even more.

Sirius would've continued the argument, but saw that Harry was in no state to discuss anything rationally. He wasn't about to allow James and Lily's son to go on a kamikaze mission.

"We'll talk about this later." He reached down to pull Harry to his feet. Harry stood still for a moment before attempting to walk.

"I'm okay," he said.

"All the same," Sirius told him, "that's enough flying. I'll try disapparating us both to Remus's. It's been a while since I did the spell, so I hope this works. Stay here, I'll go collect your Firebolt and Hedwig." When he brought them back, he held onto Hedwig's cage and handed the Firebolt to Harry. "Hold on to me." A moment later, Sirius had apparated, but Harry was still there.

"Great," he muttered. "He didn't know where we were, so he won't be able to get back." He swung one leg over the broomstick and flew into the air, saying, "Point me" to his wand.


	2. The Hogwarts Fugitive, Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters. The scienwitzists are mine, but if J.K. Rowling wants them badly enough, she can have them. : ) I am not making any money off of this; it's for pure enjoyment and fun.

The Hogwarts Fugitive, Part 2 

When Sirius had apparated within five miles of Remus's without Harry, he groaned. "It's been too long since I've done that spell." When he reached the house some time later, he called down the hall, "I'm back!"

A frizzy-haired witch dressed in red-striped pajamas came into the hall, while Remus Lupin came out of the kitchen.

"Where's Harry?" The witch called Arabella Figg asked.

"I tried to disapparate both of us and it didn't work. I don't know how to get back now; I don't know where we were. I know it's dangerous to disapparate, but I disapparated about five miles off; and I don't think finding me is top-priority these days, so hopefully I'll get lucky and the Ministry won't have noticed."

Remus looked perturbed. "It ought to be all right, it's late enough that the Ministry won't be paying attention to one disapparation. I only hope Harry can find us. How was he doing?"

"His scar started hurting while we were in the air and he fell off his broomstick. He hit his head, but seemed to be getting better before I disapparated." Sirius felt horrible about leaving Harry alone there. A thought occurred to him and he said it out loud, "What if he waits there for me and the Death Eaters find him?"

"He won't," Remus attempted to reassure. He didn't do a good job; his face was a mask of concern.

"Oh, for the love of Merlin. You two are a couple of mother dragons. You can't protect him all the time. Harry can look after himself."

"I agree, Arabella, under ordinary circumstances. These are not ordinary circumstances."

"You-Know-Who's not going to give up on Harry, then, is he? Not after all that."

"I'm afraid not. Harry's safety is my highest priority. As long as Voldemort's still alive, he's in danger, "Sirius said.

Remus told Sirius, "Don't underestimate Harry, Sirius. He's very special and I have the feeling he will be the one to conquer Voldemort someday."

"I know he's special. He'd be special even without possibly being the one to defeat Voldemort. But he's not ready yet, if that is part of his destiny, which I dread that it is. I can't let him do it. I am allowed to worry, aren't I?"

"Yes, of course you are," Arabella said to him impatiently. "I'm worried too, as Remus is. We don't _want_ Harry to fight him again, but it may be necessary. He nearly destroyed him as a baby all those years ago, didn't he?"

"That was mainly Lily's doing, as I understand it," Sirius replied. "She put a protective charm so strong on him that Voldemort couldn't break through it and lost his powers, parts of them being transferred to Harry."

"Charms always were her strong point, weren't they?" Arabella mused.

Taking a seat by the window, Sirius stared out at the inky blackness of the sky morosely. Remus sat down with a sigh and leaned back in his chair to gaze at the ceiling and wait.

"You both," Arabella said, "are exhausted. Go lie down and get some sleep. I'll watch for Harry."

"I can't sleep," Sirius and Remus answered at the same time.

Arabella flopped down on the couch and shook her head.

At Hogwarts, all the students were talking about Harry Potter being expelled and his being a spy for Sirius Black. All of Gryffindor was especially outraged with Fudge and he was spending the day "working" (hiding) in his office. Howlers had been coming in droves from the wizarding public. The Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs alike were trying to pry information from Ron and Hermione, yet could've saved their breath because Ron and Hermione weren't talking to anyone much except each other. Draco Malfoy and the Slytherins were loving every moment of this. Ron and Hermione tried to avoid them because they knew they would absolutely explode if anyone attempted to say anything.

Most the students had given up on Ron and Hermione by lunchtime and were now speculating on the details in excited whirrs. Grateful for the chance to talk with more privacy to Hermione, Ron whispered what had happened the night before with Sirius coming to the school. Hermione let out a gasp of horror, causing all the Gryffindors to glance at her with eager curiosity.

"What if he's been captured? Or hurt somewhere? How will we find out about what's going on?" Just then, the mail owls flew in and a letter dropped into Hermione's lap.

"That could be from Harry!" Ron hissed. "Open it, quick!"

"What if it's from Sirius and something terrible has happened to Harry? I don't want to know!" She hissed back.

"Give it here, I'll open it," Ron said impatiently, taking the letter from her and ripping it open.

_Ron and Hermione,_

_H was attacked at Kings Cross by Muggles possibly hired by one of the Death Eaters. He was taken to a Muggle hospital nearby where his doctor was disguised as a Death Eater trying to take him to Voldemort. I had him for a while, but we got separated. If things are all right, he ought to be here at L's even as you read this. He'll send an owl if he can, but we're going into hiding. Keep your eyes open and let's hope for the best._

Snuffles 

Ron and Hermione simply looked at each other, not knowing what to say, knowing there was nothing they could do.

The door to Remus's house opened cautiously at lunchtime, just as Sirius, Arabella, and Remus were nibbling sandwiches absentmindedly. Harry poked his head in the door, right side still having some blood on it. All three of them leapt to their feet. "Harry!"

"Well, I guess I found the right house," he said with a tired grin.

Arabella went over to him and held out her hand. "Oh, thank goodness! I'm Arabella Figg."

Harry did a double take at the name Figg. "Figg? You're not related to Mrs. Figg near Privet Drive, are you?"

"I'm not related to her; I am her."

Harry eyed her as if she'd gone a bit mad. "Er, well, the Mrs. Figg I know is

pretty old. You don't look old."

"Ever heard of a Mascarada charm, Harry?" He shook his head.

"Well, when you were brought to Privet Drive, Dumbledore wanted me to move near enough to watch you and make sure you were all right. I knew you before you came to Privet Drive, and, did you know, I actually held you in my arms when you were just a baby? You had to be the sweetest little guy there ever was," she prattled on as Harry looked embarrassed.

"Er, Arabella," Remus started.

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry, I do tend to run on. Dumbledore wanted me to use the Mascarada to appear as an old woman, just in case someone from our world recognized me. I apologize for never having told you before, but it just wasn't safe for you. I wanted to, believe me. I wish you could have been spared those dreadful Dursleys. Awful Muggles, just awful."

"I remember your name from when Dumbledore was giving Sirius instructions last year, but I didn't make the connection."

"We must talk later. Right now, let me see your head."

"It's fine," Harry told her.

"You fall from the sky, hit it on a rock, and it's fine? You are like James, aren't you? Come, now, let me see." Harry tilted the right side of his head toward her reluctantly and she tsked, taking out her wand. She mumbled a healing charm and Harry felt the skin piece back together. She used the corner of her pajama shirtsleeve to clean the side of his face. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Sirius directed a firm look at him. "I haven't gotten a chance to tell you this, Harry, but you have put yourself in a lot of danger by leaving Hogwarts. I know you felt you had to do it for me, and I appreciate that, but you cannot be unprotected in times like these."

"Sirius, if I had stayed and waited, then you would've been caught and I'd still have been expelled. There was no other option here," Harry defended.

"He's right, Sirius," Remus agreed. "If he had stayed, things would be worse. You would be back in Azkaban at the least and unable to help protect Harry. He would have been expelled regardless."

"Well, look what happened: he was beaten, stabbed, almost delivered to Voldemort."

Harry felt a ridiculous urge to laugh; Sirius had taken on a tone similar to Mrs. Weasley's. Just then, a wave of hunger and severe fatigue washed over him and he sat down wearily on the couch.

"I think some food would be in order," Remus said. With a flick of his wand, a plate appeared in Harry's lap covered in sandwiches and fruit. A tall glass of Butterbeer hovered in mid-air.

Harry thanked him for the food, and began attacking a sandwich hungrily, tiredness put on hold. "How's Hedwig?" He asked with his mouth full.

Sirius glanced into her cage. "She looks better than when I saw her last."

Harry moved onto a second sandwich and watched Sirius who was looking at Remus questioningly.

"Harry will be perfectly all right here. We won't let anything happen to him. We'd better start packing, you two are going to be heading out of here and into hiding. Arabella, walk into town, will you, and buy some warm sweaters and a coat for Harry. Dumbledore gave me instructions for you," Remus told Sirius. "Harry, I need you to tell me about your attackers at Kings Cross later."

Harry nodded.

"Okay, tell me about Dumbledore's instructions while I pack. Oh, that reminds me, you have to tell me how you knew what to do last night when you took us to Dumbledore. I didn't even know where he was," Sirius said.

"I'll come with you, Mrs. Figg. I can't sit still," Harry told her, apple in hand. It was odd calling this young woman in her thirties by Mrs. Figg, the old woman he'd known her as for so long.

"It's Arabella, Harry. And I'm glad you're coming. I don't really know what colors are best for you. I've never seen you in any Muggle clothes other than Dudley's old things." Arabella replied, giving him the once-over.

Sirius frowned and gave her a withering glance. "He's not going to a fashion show, hurry back. And keep an eye on him."

Harry and Arabella both looked at Sirius in exasperation. "I'll keep both on him," Arabella said at the same time as Harry said, "I'll be fine."

They went out the front door and down the road, Arabella chattering. "I was friends with your parents, two of the best people who ever walked the face of the earth. Sometimes I forget, even though it's been so long, and start to apparate over and visit Lily. Then, I remember and it all hits me like a ton of cauldrons." She looked over at Harry. "Having to watch you live with the Dursleys has been an absolute torture for me, you've no idea. It must be very hard on you."

"Yeah," he replied, "it is." An idea struck him and he looked back at her with a hopeful expression. "Can I ask you a question? I asked Sirius and he wouldn't answer me. What did my parents do? Why did Voldemort try so hard to find them?"

"I can't see the harm in telling you. Goodness, I thought you would've known. They were both Aurors, dedicated to catching You-Know-Who. They caught so many Death Eaters and Dark Wizards together. James picked up information from the Wizard Underground about who You-Know-Who would go after next, and then Lily would put a strong charm on the person and their family to protect them. They found out where Death Eaters would be gathering and they'd catch them. They were two of our most-valued in the wizarding world."

Harry was speechless. His parents did all that?

Arabella continued as they walked. "Once you were born, they tried to stop putting themselves in as much danger, but it was too late: You-Know—this is ridiculous, you don't mind if I say his name, do you—Voldemort already had them and you as his next targets. He was dead-set on killing you, for reasons I'm not sure of, and he hated James and Lily for obvious reasons. I'm not surprised about your surviving Voldemort's attack with Lily's ancient protection charm on you. They loved you so much; they knew if anything happened to you while they were still alive, they wouldn't be able to bear it."

Harry managed to say, "Voldemort told me that Mum didn't have to die, that she was protecting me."

Arabella looked thoughtful. "There's so much to this story that I don't know. Not even Sirius knows everything, I don't believe. Dumbledore does for sure, however. You should ask him sometime."

"I kind of asked once, but he said he couldn't answer all my questions and said when it was time for me to know, I'd know."

Arabella smiled vaguely. "That sounds like Dumbledore."

Harry gave her the same vague smile. "Yeah." They arrived at the clothing store and Harry chose clothes quickly at random, thinking about what Arabella had told him about his parents. Everything new he was finding out about them hit home and it hurt.

Back at Remus's house, Sirius handed Harry another trunk and told him to pack quickly. He took a closer look at him. "Are you feeling all right? You look sort of off-color."

"Fine," Harry mumbled, tossing clothes into the trunk. He looked up at Sirius. "Can we talk sometime soon, though?"

"Sure, anything," Sirius replied. In his head he thought, "Except James and Lily. I can't take it right now, I can't."

After Harry told Remus every detail he could remember about the attack at Kings Cross, Remus sent out several owls. Then, Remus reminded Sirius of how to disapparate himself and Harry in case of emergencies but gave the two of them several portkeys to hold onto. They were going to stay in a small hut in a Scotland forest for a while. Remus would join them on their third day. Arabella would be staying at Remus's to 'continue the mission'.

Harry held onto his Firebolt and Hedwig's cage. His trunk had been shrunken once more.

"Ready to go?" Sirius asked him.

"Yeah."

"Bye, Harry," Arabella said with a wave.

"I'll see you two soon," Remus told them with a smile.

Sirius and Harry used one of the numerous portkeys and landed painfully on a hardwood floor.

With a groan, Harry stood and said, "I can't wait to learn how to disapparate. If I ever get back to Hogwarts, that is."

"You will." The two glanced around the cabin. It was very tiny, dirt and dust covered the windows and the floor. There were two cots standing crookedly by the fireplace and a small sink with a shelf above it on one wall.

"It's a bit bigger than my cupboard at the Dursleys," Harry cracked, "but not by much."

"Cupboard?" Sirius asked sharply. "What cupboard?"

Harry sat down and filled Sirius in on his life at the Dursleys.

"You lived in a cupboard for ten years? Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable." Sirius shook his head angrily.

"They did let me have Dudley's second bedroom after the first letter from Hogwarts came. That's progress," Harry added bitterly.

"If I had known how you were being treated earlier, it would have been more motivation to escape Azkaban sooner." Sirius's eyes took on a momentary haunted look (as they always did when the wizard prison came up) before he shuddered and continued. "They've never hurt you, have they?"

"Not in a way that matters now."

Sirius smiled suddenly. "I met Petunia once during our fifth year at Hogwarts. James, Remus, and I went home with Lily for a couple weeks during the summer. In fact, Petunia had just started dating that Vernon character. What a funny pair they were." Mentioning James and Lily was indeed painful, and Sirius forced his mind away from them.

"It's hard to picture them dating, kissing...eurgh!" Harry laughed out loud, Sirius joining him after a moment, sniggering. "Scary."

That night wasn't too bad. The cots creaked and there were nighttime noises from outside, but there was plenty of firewood for the cold evening. Sirius wanted Harry to tell him about everything that had happened since he found out he was a wizard. They'd never truly gotten the chance to merely sit and talk about anything relatively normal at length, so Harry caught Sirius up on what had been going on with his life. Sirius went to sleep pleased to have an actual normal (normal for Harry) conversation with his godson. Harry lay on the cot thinking about his parents for a long while before he drifted into a deep, exhausted sleep.

Sirius woke Harry up mid-morning the next day to go fishing with him using Muggle rods. Sirius wanted them to live off the land as much as possible so that they wouldn't use up their food supply. He told Harry they shouldn't even use magic in case it was traced.

In the afternoon after a trout lunch, Sirius and Harry pulled the invisibility cloak over themselves and took off exploring in the forest in order to find some more food choices. Fish would get tiresome fast. Once, Sirius thought he heard someone else in the forest and he transformed into dog form to find out who or what it was. Nothing was there, but Sirius rushed Harry back to the cabin quickly and left him in his invisibility cloak with a warning to stay put.

He was gone for several hours. Upon his return, he wore a frown and carried a bucketful of blackberries. He held it out to Harry.

"What happened?" Harry asked, reaching for a handful of berries.

"I could have sworn I heard someone, but I searched this whole section of forest and didn't find anyone. We're going to board up the windows, and I'll keep watch tonight."

"You don't have to do that," Harry said. "We can switch off or something."

"No, I'd rather do it myself. You're the one in danger here, and if you fell asleep, anything could happen."

"You're not exactly safe yourself, Sirius. If you get caught...." Harry said.

"If Voldemort got you...." Sirius began, voice drifting off.

"Okay, okay. We're both in trouble. If you really think you heard someone, let's get out of here and find somewhere else to go."

"Remus is coming tomorrow morning, we can't leave until then."

"I won't fall asleep, I promise," Harry offered.

Sirius yawned. He was very tired and started to hedge a bit. "All right, wake me up at two o'clock and I'll take over."

The two of them boarded up the windows quickly and Sirius fell asleep under a wool blanket on one of the cots.

Harry sat down on his cot, senses tuned for the slightest sound. He didn't hear anything; he just sat there and waited. He passed the time thinking about everything and yet nothing at the same time. Hogwarts seemed ages away and he was missing his friends and normal life. He snorted inwardly. Since when had Harry Potter ever had a normal life? Just then, he felt a familiar pain begin to throb softly in his forehead. It had never come on gradually like this; it had always been a shock of unrelenting pain occurring in a single instant. He thought about waking Sirius, but didn't know whether he should. What could Sirius do except worry? He heard a whisper inside his head. It kept repeating his name over and over. What was going on? His name began to get louder and louder. Suddenly, the pain hit him full-blast and Harry heard a familiar, high, cold laugh. "Sirius!" He yelled; keeled over, vision gone black.

Sirius threw the blanket off and asked frantically, "Your scar?"

"Yes!"

Sirius sat there helplessly. Dumbledore had told him his theory about the scar. Could Voldemort be close by or was he simply angry about something? "What can I do?"

"Nothing." Harry was sprawled on the floor now, trying to suck in some air so he could breathe. The laughter faded and the pain subsided gradually now, after it had taken the remainder of Harry's energy. He fell into a mix of unconsciousness/sleep right there on the floor. Sirius checked his breathing. It sounded kind of irregular.

"Voldemort," Sirius spoke into the air with a tone full of fierce hatred, "damn you. Damn you for destroying families and people. Good people. Damn you for killing James and Lily and damn you for trying to kill Harry. I'll never let you do it, you know. Over my dead body you'll get him. Over my dead body."

Harry Potter was sound asleep when Remus Lupin apparated in the next morning. Sirius stood up looking tense and unshaven.

"What's wrong?" Remus inquired perceptively.

Sirius told him about Harry's scar hurting again last night.

Remus sat down looking puzzled. "From what I've heard, Voldemort's been pretty quiet the past couple of days. Now I wonder if that's a good sign or a bad one."

"Let's hope for the former," Sirius replied.

Later in the early afternoon, Harry woke up feeling as though everything was completely normal. His head didn't ache at all. He heard two voices talking quietly nearby.

"Harry, how do you feel?" Sirius asked when he noticed Harry sitting up.

"Better." Harry replied. "Hi, Professor Lupin."

"You can call me Remus, Harry. I hear your scar was acting up again last night," he remarked, trying not to sound too worried.

"This time was different," Harry explained. "At first it wasn't bad, but then I heard Voldemort whispering my name over and over and my scar started hurting worse. Then Voldemort laughed and the pain hit me full-on. I don't know what happened."

Sirius asked, "Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

"I thought it would go away or something. Anyway, there was nothing you could do."

Remus, brow furrowed, said aloud, "I wonder if Voldemort could be 'tracking' you, Harry, by intentionally making your scar hurt. From what I've heard, there was no obvious reason for him to be enraged last night."

Sirius frowned. "I think if he could track Harry, he'd have been here by now or sent someone. Good theory, Remus, but you're not thinking like Voldemort."

Harry got a sudden insight. "Maybe he was dreaming last night! He could have been dreaming about trying to catch me or something."

Remus smiled. "That could be, Harry. And he must have become angry when he couldn't get you."

"Well, that sounds like a plausible scenario," Sirius mused. "It certainly makes me feel better."

"So, what are we going to do now?" Harry asked. "Are we going somewhere else or staying here?"

"Dumbledore told me about somewhere we ought to go instead. We can go ahead and use one of the portkeys to get there. Let's make sure there's nothing here that would give your presence here away," Remus said.

Harry looked in on Hedwig. She was dozing inside her cage, wings fluttering softly. "Did you give her some food, Sirius?"

"Yes, she's eaten. I think she's doing better too."

"Can I send Ron and Hermione an owl later today, then?"

"Why don't you use another owl?" Sirius suggested. "Everyone knows Hedwig belongs to you."

"Oh, right," Harry replied, feeling foolish.

Remus carefully selected one of the portkeys from the bag he'd given Sirius. "Well, are we ready?" Remus asked.

Sirius and Harry nodded, Harry taking hold of his trunk, the Firebolt, and Hedwig's cage.

"Let's go," Remus suggested, holding out a tennis ball. The three placed fingers on it and Harry felt the familiar tug somewhere behind his navel.

The three landed hard in the dark on a rocky surface. There were oofs and Hedwig's hoots echoing throughout the vast blackness.

Remus lit up his wand to reveal the fact that they were in a cave sprawled out on the floor.

"Rather rough way to travel, Moony," Sirius commented wryly, easing up from the floor. "Harry and I are going to be turning all sorts of colors by the time this is over."

"Well, at least we're here," Remus replied. "Lumos todamenta!" The whole cave was filled with light from an unknown source.

However good it was that there was light, it was freezing inside. Harry stood up and asked, "Are we going to stay here?"

"For now," Remus said vaguely with a small shiver. "I'd make it warmer in here, but I think we'd better stick with doing that the Muggle-way because we're already going to be doing more magic than we ought to be."

"How long will we be here?" Harry asked curiously.

"I don't know, as long as Dumbledore advises it. He only told me to bring you here, he didn't say how long."

Sirius was studying the cave, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.

Remus noticed the expression and asked, "What?"

"I've been here before."

"When?"

"With Carnatia, a year after Hogwarts. She always was wild about caves, so we spent a few days here."

"How do you know they're the same caves?" Remus asked, as Harry asked slyly, "Who's Carnatia?"

Sirius grinned wider. "I know they're the same caves because of that." He pointed to the ceiling. On the top of the cave was written 'Carnatia Sirius love'.

"And, Harry, Carnatia Bixon was my longest relationship ever of three months the year after I graduated from Hogwarts."

"I liked her, Padfoot," Remus commented, using his nickname fondly. "She was good for you."

"I know," Sirius replied, regretful. "But I was young and couldn't even think of being attached to just one woman. If I had a brain in my head back then, I probably wouldn't have broken up with her to go after that barmaid Muffy."

"Muffy?" Harry chortled.

"She happened to be the equivalent of Madame Rosmerta," Sirius defended.

"In your mind perhaps," Remus commented. "I always liked Tyla better. You know, the girl at the pub in Ragwortsville. Now _she _was classy."

Sirius grunted good-natured disagreement and changed the subject. "So, where should we set up?"

"Dumbledore told me about a chamber a bit deeper down this tunnel to the left. We'll conceal the entrance to it after we're inside so it won't be obvious that anyone's here."

Just before the three headed deeper into the cave, Pig flew in excitedly and flew circles around Harry's head. He had come in through a hole at the cave's top.

"Whoa! Hey, Pig! What are you doing here?" He reached up and took a rather large packet from him. Harry read the letter aloud first:

_Harry,_

_We hope you made it to Lupin's and you're okay. Fudge is furious about your running away and has the Ministry looking for you. The whole school is talking about it. Filch doesn't look so happy either, come to think of it. Hermione is the one who put all your assignments in here. Fred, George, Hermione, and I all slipped into the teachers' offices to see their plans for the next month. Hermione wants to say that your O.W.L.s are very important and not to 'neglect your studies'. Anyway, Hogwarts isn't the same without you. Find a way back quick._

Ron & Hermione 

Harry smiled sadly.

Sirius spoke up encouragingly, "Harry, you know, we were fifth years at Hogwarts once upon a time, we can help you out. You will get back to Hogwarts. Remember that."

"I wasn't a bad professor, was I, Harry? You'll get through."

"You were the best," Harry answered, looking over at Remus. "Can I send an owl back to them?"

"Sure, we just need to get into that chamber and sealed up soon," replied Sirius. He and Remus took their belongings and Hedwig into the chamber, leaving Harry to write back. He opened his trunk and took out a piece of parchment and a quill with ink.

_Ron & Hermione,_

_I'm with them now and we're all right. Thanks for the owl. I don't know if I'll get to send another for a while because I don't know how long we'll be here. S and R are going to help me keep up with schoolwork. I have to go now. I will be back as soon as I can._

He tied the piece of parchment around Pig's small leg. "Go on, take this to Ron." Pig hooted eagerly and flew up and out of the hole.

Harry lugged his trunk into the rock chamber. Sirius and Remus looked up when he came in. Three sleeping bags had been laid out with blankets piled on them and a roaring fire blazed in the center of the "room".

"Cave sweet cave," Sirius said light-heartedly.

Harry grinned halfway, thoughts of Hogwarts and his friends.

"I'm going to go ahead and seal off this entrance," Remus warned. "Why don't you step away from the opening a bit more, Harry?"

Harry obliged and Remus raised his wand crying out, "Cierramenta llave!"

The opening to the cave's chamber appeared to be exactly the same. "It doesn't look any different to me," Harry told Remus uncertainly.

"Reach out and touch it."

Harry stuck his hand into what looked like empty space only to feel the cold surface of rock. "Cool, how does the entranceway look to people outside? Like solid rock?"

"Exactly right," Remus answered with a satisfied, teacher-sort of smile. "Now, Sirius, since you've been here before, why don't you give us a tour down these tunnels that lead away from here. We have to see if any more exits need to be sealed."

"It's been a while," Sirius replied, "But I think I can remember a few basic things. There's a waterfall somewhere inside these caves."

So that afternoon was spent finding their way around. There was a waterfall that pooled into a small pond way down one of the tunnels that spread off another tunnel. It was warm water, too, a nice change from the coldness of the cave. Harry wanted to jump in right then, but Remus said they had to keep going. Since the second task in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Harry had wanted to try swimming again when he wasn't under pressure to save lives or trying to avoid being attacked.

They wound up not having to seal any other entrances off and headed back to their camp.

"I'll fix something for us to eat," Sirius offered. "Where's the Muggle food you brought, Moony?"

"In my trunk," Remus told him. He turned to Harry, "How about seeing what the assignments Hermione sent you are?"

Harry took them out rather reluctantly and handed them to Professor Lupin, who looked them over, mumbling.

"Potions may be out, I don't have any of these ingredients. What is your Defense of Dark Arts professor trying to do to you? McGonagall keeping her workload level up, I see. Charms, no problem. Professor Binns piling you with essays this year, I see. Divination, ha!" Harry listened to him, highly amused.

Remus looked at Harry. "We won't be able to do any actual magic, but I'll walk you through the steps. I think we're going to be busy. I'd forgotten how much work there was for fifth years."

Harry groaned inwardly. That wasn't exactly what he'd wanted to hear.

Sitting in Divination, Ron had even less patience for the ridiculous lessons than usual. Professor Trelawny kept sending him knowing glances. She was babbling on about Saturn and Jupiter collisions when she finally stopped and changed the subject to Harry. "You know, class, I had foreseen it all about Mr. Potter, the poor soul."

"What's going to happen to him now?" Parvati Patil asked her mentor eagerly.

"Ah, well, my dear, the fates haven't seen fit to inform me the details yet, but he is sure to get into trouble out there. You-Know-Who is bound to go after him once again."

Ron squirmed angrily in his chair. Neville trembled slightly.

"Indeed, Mr. Potter was ill-fated from the day of his birth, that's for sure."

Ron rose from his chair quickly. "He was not!"

"Mr. Weasley, you are not trained in The Sight as I am; you are not qualified to make such a judgment."

Ron snorted in disgust and headed towards the door. "I won't listen to this. You can shove The Sight; I'm leaving."

"I told Dumbledore about your attackers, Harry. He was going to put a couple of Aurors on the case and get back to us the moment he discovered anything," Remus said mid-bite of a Muggle hotdog he had just roasted over the fire they had built in the center of their cave chamber.

"Those miserable pieces of filth. If I ever run into them..." Sirius started angrily.

"I'm with you, Sirius," Harry added. On a different subject, he asked, "Can I ask you two a question?"

"Of course," Remus said.

"Do you think I'd make a good Auror?"

Sirius nearly spat out the water he'd been drinking. He swallowed quickly and coughed. "What makes you ask that?"

"I just wondered. It sounds interesting." Harry hesitated for a moment before adding, "Arabella told me Mum and Dad were Aurors, but that's not the only reason I asked you."

"Arabella told you?" Sirius repeated dumbly.

"Yeah," Harry answered, a bit sheepishly.

"I thought that was going to be a matter left to me," Sirius said, looking over at Remus.

Harry was confused. "When I asked you, you didn't want to tell me. Why now?"

"It wasn't the right time, I wasn't ready; I didn't think you were either," Sirius told him. He looked straight into Harry's eyes. "It's still not the right time." He stood and headed down the passageway without another word.

Harry felt awful. He couldn't help his curiosity; he had wanted, needed, to know the truth. He set down his pumpkin juice and stared uncomfortably at his hands. He could feel Remus's gaze on him.

"It's not your fault, Harry," said Remus quietly.

"Everything is my fault," Harry answered glumly. "My parents died for me; if I hadn't told Cedric to take the cup with me, he wouldn't be dead. If I had only let you two kill Pettigrew, Voldemort wouldn't be back. I'm cursed, that's what. Everything and everyone who cares about me gets put in danger." He started to stand, but Remus took hold of his arm and brought him back into a seated position.

"Don't say things like that. Nothing of this is your fault and, trust me, you are not cursed. This is just how things were meant to be, how they happened. After what happened with Pettigrew, and I actually thought about it, I realized that you were right: James would not have wanted us to become murderers because that was just not the type of person he was. Please don't blame yourself."

"Who decides how things are meant to be and why do they have to be this way?" Harry's voice became very hoarse and full of bitterness.

"I don't know. I wish I had the answers, Harry, but I don't." Remus's voice grew heavy and his whole body seemed to sag. "Do you want me to go talk to Sirius?"

"Do you think he's very angry at me?"

"I don't think he's angry at you. He has the same problem as you do: he blames himself for circumstances out of his control."

"I know it wasn't his fault," Harry said.

"And it wasn't yours either," Remus told him, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Do you understand?"

"I can't help the way I feel," Harry replied. "You know what else I can't help?"

"What?"

"I can't help thinking about how different, how right everything would be if Mum and Dad were still here and Voldemort was gone. I can picture it, in my mind. We could all be happy."

"Yes," Remus agreed softly, his eyes becoming a bit moist. "Yes, we could."

Harry was immediately embarrassed about his thoughts spilling out of his mouth like that and felt suddenly vulnerable. It felt good, in a way, to talk about it, but those had been his private, personal thoughts for so long and sharing them felt strange.

Remus subtly wiped his eyes and stood up. "I think you ought to go off to bed now. I'll talk to Sirius tonight and see what I can do."

"Okay," Harry answered a bit relieved. He wanted to sleep and escape from his life and troubles for a while. "Thanks. I'm not sure what I would say."

Remus said, "I've known Sirius a long time. Things will be all right. Goodnight, Harry."

Harry climbed into one of the sleeping bags and laid there for a long while before drifting off, staring up at the cave's ceiling, thinking.

"Sirius!" Remus called once he got farther down the passageway and came to a split. "Where are you?"

"Down the right tunnel," A tired-sounding voice responded, not too far away.

Remus walked down the right tunnel and saw Sirius sitting against the tunnel wall with his head back. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, wonderful," Sirius said sarcastically. "I think I could quite possibly be the worst godfather in the world. First, through my own stupidity, I get James and Lily killed. Then, I let Harry go live with three horrible Muggles. He's attacked by Voldemort time and time again and I let it happen. Now, I've messed up because I couldn't answer his perfectly logical questions about his own parents because I can't handle it. I'll win no awards, let me tell you that."

"Listen to me, Sirius, and listen well. What happened to James and Lily is not your fault in the slightest. We trusted Peter, all of us. He betrayed them by turning them over to Voldemort. He did it, not you. You checked on him that night because you cared. You were a good friend to James and Lily. If they were here right now, they would tell you that they know it wasn't your fault. Whether you believed them or not would be questionable, but you know that they wouldn't want you to blame yourself forever. You didn't have much choice in where Harry was sent, but you have him now, so take care of him. And what's happening with Voldemort is beyond everyone's control at the moment. But we're all trying to stop him and we will. Sitting in dark tunnels isn't going to help anything."

"You always were too sensible, Moony. I know you're speaking sense, but the words just won't get through to me." He was silent for a moment. "Harry thinks I'm angry at him, doesn't he?"

"He might. I tried to tell him that you weren't but I'm not sure if he understood or not. He's like you, Sirius, in that he's blaming himself for all the terrible things going on, even for his parents' death. In truth, I'm worried about his whole attitude about himself; called himself cursed."

"Hogwash!" Sirius got to his feet.

"Hogwash exactly, my friend," Remus said meaningfully.

"I get your point. Is Harry still awake?"

"I sent him to bed. Talk to him tomorrow, Padfoot, or at least very soon."

"I will," Sirius agreed, dreading it but knowing it had to be done. He had to get everything cleared up with Harry before it built up.

Harry had fallen asleep by the time the men got back into the chamber and gotten into their sleeping bags, but it was a fitful sleep full of nightmares. Harry woke up once or twice that night sweating profusely and he had to sit up and try to calm his racing heart and mind.

The next day, Sirius, Remus, and Harry began a pattern that would continue for the next two weeks. Remus got out Harry's assignments and Harry took out his books and they went over lessons. Sirius mainly sat by and told professor jokes that made Harry laugh and Remus scowl.

That evening as Harry was writing an essay on Melinda Snodgrass, witch rights reformist from the 1960s, for History of Magic, Sirius came over and sat down next to Harry, reading over his shoulder.

"Sounds good." He cleared his throat nervously. "Er, Harry, I'm sorry about last night. I just can't talk about it all right now. I want to, but I just can't. I'd like to discuss your parents and our work as Aurors, but..."

Harry cut in, "You're an Auror, too?"

"Yes, we all worked together." Sirius shifted uncomfortably then stood up. "But that's all for another time. You should finish that essay or Remus will be after my blood."

Every day for the next two weeks went well, for the most part. Harry was keeping up with his schoolwork with Remus's and Sirius's help, and the three even had some fun. Nearly every night they swam in the warm water down the tunnel. It was great, but rather a shock when getting back out into the coldness of the cave. Remus kept challenging them both to games of Wizard Chess, which he nearly always won. Harry lost every time against Remus but won his first game ever against Sirius and thought about what Ron would say had he been there. Sirius usually lost to Remus and, being competitive, didn't appreciate it very much. Some of the chess pieces came close to being hurled into the fire, but Remus usually came to their rescue. Hedwig completely recovered from whatever had been ailing her, and she flew around exploring the cave during the days. Being in hiding with Remus and Sirius wasn't bad at all. They were getting the chance to truly get to know one another, as they should have gotten long ago.

One night, as Remus was trying to explain to Harry how to do a transferring charm, making two objects switch places, a subtle but strange noise echoed from the passageway leading away from the chamber.

"What was that sound?" Sirius asked suddenly, jerking his head up, tensing.

"I heard it, too," Remus said. "I think it came from somewhere down the tunnel."

"Let's go find out what it was," Sirius suggested grimly. "Harry, stay here no matter what you hear down there."

"If you guys get into trouble, I'm going to help. I couldn't just sit here."

"Harry," Sirius started.

Remus interrupted. "Let's go find out what the noise was and come back here as quickly as possible. It could be nothing."

"Or a really bad something," replied Sirius. "We'll be back in a minute, Harry. If you get into trouble, yell."

The two friends set off down the tunnel post-haste. Harry watched them disappear into darkness.

"Moony, this divide up here, you take the left, I'll take the right."

"Be careful."

"You too."

After Remus and Sirius had separated and walked about five minutes, they heard the distant sound of rocks crashing down behind them, trapping them into their passageways.

Harry jumped up at the rumbling sound he heard down the cave. "Sirius? Remus?" He called hesitantly. Not receiving replies, he picked up his wand and started toward the tunnel entrance himself.

A familiar voice behind him warned, "Don't move, Harry."

Harry turned around slowly to face the owner of the voice. Before him stood Peter Pettigrew, aka Wormtail; betrayer of his parents, follower of Lord Voldemort.

Harry moved quickly with his wand, but not as quickly as Wormtail.

"Expelliarmus!" The short, pathetic-looking man cried. He caught the wand deftly, tucked it into his robes, and gave Harry a quivering smirk.

"Time's up, Harry. My master requires your presence; you're coming with me." Wormtail moved slowly toward him. "I don't want to force you to come with me, but I will if necessary. Padfoot and Moony won't get here in time to help you, don't count on them."

Harry backed away until he found himself against the wall, trying to think. If he ran, Wormtail would curse him and take him to Voldemort. If he called Sirius and Remus, the same result would occur and they wouldn't hear him anyway. His only hope was to stall Wormtail.

"I saved your life once, doesn't that count for anything?" He asked, trying to send Pettigrew into a guilt trip to stall him.

"Not to me," Wormtail answered, his watery eyes and shaky voice revealing fear. "I'm not afraid of wizard debt." He gave Harry an almost sympathetic look. "I was a good friend of your father. I'm sorry for what happened to James and Lily, truly. But my master had to come first, before everything and everyone."

"But my parents were your friends! They cared about you, they trusted their secrets with you!" Harry shouted, furious. "If it weren't for you, I could be with them right now. I wouldn't have had to grow up with those Muggles and I would have parents, a family. And you helped make it happen."

Wormtail tried not to look fazed by Harry's statement, but his eyes looked more watery than ever and he began to shake a bit.

Over Wormtail's shoulder, Harry caught sight of Sirius entering the room quietly, looking dusty, robes torn in places.

Wormtail spoke to Harry, "We've wasted enough time. Come with me." He reached out with his silver hand for Harry's arm when Harry let a punch fly and connected solidly with Pettigrew's nose.

That was Sirius's cue to run over, whirl Pettigrew around, and slam him against the wall. Pettigrew managed to mutter a curse that disoriented Sirius. He stopped fighting Pettigrew and stood still for a moment, wavering. Wormtail took that cue to put his silver hand around Sirius's throat and was lifting him off his feet, against the wall of the cave. Sirius began to choke, his feet swung furiously trying to connect with Wormtail's shins.

"No!" Harry yelled. "Let go of him!" He dashed toward Pettigrew and leapt onto his back, arms around his neck.

Sirius's eyes were wide, warning Harry to stop.

What Harry was trying to do worked; Wormtail dropped Sirius, grabbed one of Harry's hands with an iron grip and twisted him over, casting him to the hard floor of the cave. "Encircle carcela!"

Harry flew into mid-air and green bars surrounded him, forming a cage. He attempted to touch the bars and received searing pain in his scar. He bent over, floating inside the cage.

Sirius had picked up his wand, was on his feet, and pointed his wand at Wormtail, his eyes burning with fury. "Release Harry. Now."

"No," Pettigrew answered, terrified. "My master has waited too long."

"Peter," Sirius addressed him with gritted teeth, trying to appeal to his old friend, "you can't do this. Please. There's still time, you can come back to our side."

"No, the Dark Lord is my master. I will not betray him." Wormtail was trembling like mad now.

This enraged Sirius. "Like you betrayed James? And Lily? They trusted you! _I _trusted you!"

Wormtail answered coldly with newly found courage, "Then, that was your misfortune." He pointed his wand at Sirius. "Avada..."

A new voice roared and a bright light hit Wormtail. "Friamenta!"

Wormtail was now embedded in a block of ice, frozen solid.

Remus Lupin hurried over to where Sirius and Harry were.

"You got him!" Harry exclaimed excitedly from inside the green glowing bars. "You got Pettigrew! Sirius is free!"

Sirius could merely goggle at his friend. He said hoarsely, "Moony, you've just saved my life, in more ways than one." He pulled his long-time friend into an embrace of pure joy.

Remus could hardly believe what had happened himself. "No one deserves freedom more than you. We'll have to keep him frozen until we get him to the Ministry."

"What happened to you down the tunnel?" Harry asked.

The two men broke off their hug, remembering Harry's state. "Wormtail caused a slight cave-in, but he must not have thought we would use wands, so as not to be traced," Remus said, examining the cage carefully.

"There's no lock. Harry, have you tried to touch the bars?"

"Yeah, it hurts my scar," Harry answered ruefully. "I can't make it through the bars either, they're too close together. Just get Pettigrew to the Ministry and we can figure this out later. It's not so bad." He was lying, but he wanted Pettrigrew to get to the Ministry as fast as possible to be sure that nothing happened to mess up Sirius's freedom.

"We can't leave you here," Sirius exclaimed. "That's ludicrous!"

"Sirius is right. Why don't we try disapparating there all together? We won't need to bother worrying about being traced now. Take Harry's hand, hold onto the ice here, and I'll be on the other side of Peter."

"If it doesn't work," Harry said, "don't come back for me. Take care of Pettigrew first."

"Let's not concentrate on the ifs, let's just try this and see what happens," Remus suggested. He began to disapparate all of them.

The next thing they knew, they all arrived (cage intact with Harry) in the office of acting Minister of Magic, Grover Fudge (Cornelius Fudge's brother).

Grover jumped from his seat in surprise at the bizarre sight, spilling a cup of coffee all over his desk. "What the devil! Sirius Black!" He gulped nervously. "What do you want?"

"I'm here to prove my innocence," Sirius stated matter-of-factly, as though he had been practicing for ages, "and also to see if someone can get my godson out of this strange prison he's in."

"First, explain to me who all these people are. I recognize you and Harry Potter, who did a runner from Hogwarts, (He gave Harry a suspicious glare) but it is beyond me why there's a man in an ice cube and" (to Lupin) "I plainly don't know who you are."

"I'm Remus Lupin, a friend of Sirius."

"Professor Remus Lupin? All right, I've heard of you."

"And this," Remus continued with a gesture, "is Peter Pettigrew."

Grover Fudge looked fearful and disbelieving. "Weasley, Erickson, Matthers, come into my office NOW," he called into a corner of his desk.

Ministry employees Arthur Weasley, Samuel Erickson, and Linda Matthers apparated into his office. Samuel was in charge of the Magical Law Enforcers and Linda was from Ministry Justice. Mr. Weasley was there due to his seniority on the Ministry staff and trustworthiness. The three let out cries of alarm at Sirius Black and the sight before them. Mr. Weasley rushed over to Harry immediately.

"Harry, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm great, except for these bars."

Mr. Weasley turned to Grover. "What's going on here?"

"You're just in time for the explanation. Before that though, I want you three to verify for me that it is indeed Peter Pettigrew inside that block of ice."

"Peter Pettigrew?" Linda, Samuel, and Mr. Weasley walked up close to the front of the block, peering inside. Mr. Weasley was the first to gasp.

"Great Merlin! It is!" Linda and Samuel nodded their heads, mouths agape.

Linda spoke up, "I know all about your case, Mr. Black. If Peter Pettigrew is alive, you don't have a case anymore, you're cleared. Tell me how all this happened."

It took nearly an hour for Sirius to explain everything, with Remus and Harry chiming in with what happened in Harry's third year when Sirius had escaped.

"So that's why you blocked him in ice when you caught him, so he couldn't transform into the rat," Samuel mused.

"I can't believe that Pettigrew was in my home for all those years!" Arthur exclaimed angrily.

"Minister Fudge, I suggest that we hold a trial right away so that Sirius's name can be cleared for good. It's about time," Linda proclaimed with a smile.

Grover Fudge looked amazed and a bit stunned. "Oh, Cornelius is going to absolutely burst with envy when I get the glory for this one. Samuel, set up a freezer for Pettigrew, cast a disabling spell so that he can't be disapparated out, and assign Enforcers to watch him day and night."

"Yes, Minister," Samuel said with a bow. He disapparated with Pettigrew.

"Linda, why don't you go with Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin here and gather some statements for the trial. Arthur, take Harry downstairs to the lab."

Sirius told Harry, "I'll meet up with you after we're done with giving our statements."

Harry confirmed hopefully, "This means I'll get to stay with you, right?"

Sirius beamed. "Yes."

"This is great!" Harry exclaimed, rolling a bit in mid-air.

Remus and Sirius grinned at each other. Everything was working out like, well, magic. They began to follow Linda from the room to her office down the hall, when Sirius turned and asked Fudge as an afterthought, "Harry will be able to go back to Hogwarts now, won't he? Since he turned out not to be a spy for me?"

"I'll have to talk to Cornelius, but I don't see why not," Grover replied with a dazzled look.

Harry and Sirius smiled at each other. "See you in a bit," Sirius told him and kept following Remus and Linda.

"Thank you, Minister Fudge," Harry said. "You don't know what this means."

"It was my pleasure," Grover answered. He'd get to be permanent Minister of Magic at this rate.

Arthur reached into the bars gingerly and took Harry's arm to disapparate.

They appeared in a laboratory setting. Two wizards and three witches dressed in solid white robes turned from their work, surprised at the sudden company.

Mr. Weasley spoke first. "Harry Potter here ('The Harry Potter?') has been imprisoned inside this, er, cage you could say, by one of You-Know-Who's followers. When he touches the bars, it hurts him, and there doesn't appear to be a lock on the ruddy thing."

The witches and wizards introduced themselves as Ministry Scienwitzists: Zelma, Rod, Tim, Carolyn, and Florence. They then went into scienwitzest-mode, examining the bars, and trying to touch them hesitantly.

"It doesn't exactly hurt me trying to touch it; however, there's a force-field surrounding it," Florence said. The others concurred with her.

While the bars were still being examined, Mr. Weasley said to Harry, "Ron told me you were expelled for something you didn't do. Fudge, Grover Fudge, that is, told me you had been spying for Black. I didn't want to believe it, but it all makes sense now. I wouldn't be worried about not being able to get back into Hogwarts, Cornelius will let you back in as though nothing has happened. I'm sure of it."

Harry smiled. "I hope so. I haven't been gone _that_ long. I should still be able to pass my O.W.L.s, shouldn't I?"

"I think so. They're a long way off yet. You'll just have to get caught up. Your professors should be understanding."

"I don't know about Snape," Harry realized aloud glumly.

Mr. Weasley chuckled. "Who knows? Maybe he'll surprise you."

Zelma was flipping through a very thick book. "Rod, come over here and look at this. See what you think."

Rod read to everyone, "'The Easy Way to Penetrate Through Dark Magic Impounds: 1) Hold onto the imprisoned firmly with one hand. 2) Grip one of the bars or sides of the impound with a dragon-hide glove for protection from the force-field if one exists. 3) Cast the penetration spell. 4) Try to disapparate the prisoner and yourself somewhere close by.'"

"Let's try it," Tim suggested. "It sounds like what we're looking for."

"I'll do it," offered Mr. Weasley.

"I have a dragon-hide glove you can use," Carolyn said. "I just need to get it off my motorcycle outside." She disapparated.

Harry told Mr. Weasley, "Thanks, floating in mid-air trying not to brush against these bars is getting a bit old."

"No problem, glad to help."

Carolyn apparated into the room and handed Mr. Weasley a rather large, expensive-looking glove that he put on. "Good luck."

Mr. Weasley gripped Harry's forearm and clasped one of the green, glowing bars. He concentrated hard and shouted, "Penetrata" as he tried to disapparate the two of them.

Mr. Weasley apparated on the second floor but Harry wasn't with him.

Disappointed, he disapparated back into to the lab. "We'll have to try something else," He said. "It didn't work." Mr. Weasley then noticed that the cage was still there, now glowing a bright, sinister red. It was empty. "He didn't apparate?"

"No."

"He's not with you?"

"Where could he be?"

"This is not good."

"Search the building!"

All five of them plus Mr. Weasley each took two floors calling out Harry's name. Harry was definitely not in the building.

"Shouldn't we tell Black? He is Harry's godfather," Zelma asked Mr. Weasley uncertainly.

"Not yet," replied Mr. Weasley, just as uncertainly. "He has to finish making his statements without interruption and, who knows, we may find Harry before then."

They called out the Magical Law Enforcers to search the town and surrounding areas for hours but to no avail. Harry Potter had seemingly vanished.

Sirius had just finished his last statement for the trial and was standing up with a deeply satisfied sigh when someone knocked and entered Linda's office. It was Arthur Weasley, ashen-faced.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked, his blood turning to ice. He knew at once something was very wrong.

"Harry's gone."


	3. The Hogwarts Fugitive, Part 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story other than the scienwitzists (and if J.K. Rowling wanted them, she could certainly have them). I wrote this story for pure fun and enjoyment.

Author's Note: I am so sorry I took so long with Part Three! I had final exams at school and life was just crazy in general. There is one more part that will most likely not take so long. I really appreciate your patience and hope the wait was worth it!

**The Hogwarts Fugitive, Part Three**

"Hey, come on now, son; wake up," A commanding voice boomed.

Harry Potter opened his eyes revealing two blurry faces above him. He stared up, squinting.

"Give him his glasses, Omnis. They fell off," A female voice instructed. "He can't see."

Harry felt a pair of glasses being shoved onto his face and the world cleared at once. He saw a middle-aged man standing over him, thickset and blond. A middle-aged woman with long black hair that was streaked with gray stared at him from farther away.

"Can you sit up?" The woman asked him.

"Yeah," Harry said feeling light-headed and very confused. He didn't know why he was lying in the grass, who these people were, or who he was for that matter. "Er, this is going to sound a bit strange, but do you know who I am or why I'm lying in the grass?"

The man exchanged a glance with the woman. "You don't know who you are?"

"No idea."

"Oh dear," the woman sighed. "It must be the effects of that fever."

"Must be," the man replied.

"What fever? Who are you?"

"We're your parents, Michael. Come on, Omnis, let's get him inside and into bed at once."

Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Magic, the atmosphere was panicked. Harry Potter disappearing like that with Voldemort on the loose was extremely frightening to all those in the wizarding world. Grover Fudge had the scienwitzists, Arthur, Samuel, Linda, Remus, and Sirius crowded into his office and everyone seemed to be talking at the same time, arguing about the next course of action.

"Enough!" Sirius interrupted, rising to his feet. "We're not helping him any by sitting here talking about it! We have to do something!"

Remus Lupin, who had been quiet since the madness began, said, "I've been thinking about this. Pettigrew's the only one who can help us. Let's unfreeze him, give him Veritaserum, and find out what happened to Harry."

The room was silent a moment before erupting in preparations.

"So I've been sick for two weeks?" Michael/Harry confirmed.

"Yes, dear, with some sort of dreadful fever. Even the doctors aren't sure what you had, but the worst is over and you should be fine. I'm sure your loss of memory is merely a temporary setback," the woman assured him.

"And you're my parents?"

"Yes, Omnis and Althea Lestrange," Omnis replied.

"And my name is Michael Lestrange?"

"Yes, Michael Patrick Lestrange. With our having odd names, we wanted you to have a more normal one."

"Where do we live?"

"We're just outside a very small town called Little Hangleton. We haven't lived here for a long time. We were living up north of the North Sea in a community called Nabakza. We moved here right after your fifteenth birthday. It was about time we got out of that dreadful place."

"What was wrong with Nabakza?" Michael/Harry asked, stumbling over the word.

"Well, let's just say enough's enough of that place, son. We wanted to bring you somewhere better."

"We stayed there fifteen years; we must have liked it."

Althea coughed. "The only reason we were there was due to our career choices. Our work sent us there."

"Oh." Michael/Harry wanted to ask dozens more questions, but didn't want to pester his parents. He felt odd somehow, like he didn't belong here. Like something was very wrong with this situation. He tried to shove this feeling aside and blame it on the illness he'd had.

"Well, Michael," Althea began, "I think your father and I will let you get some rest now. You'll be as good as new in no time."

"Your mother's right, lad. We'll wake you up for dinner."

"Okay. Er, goodnight then," Michael/Harry answered, suddenly feeling tired.

Althea kissed him quickly on his forehead and she and Omnis left the room, closing the door softly behind them.

"What do you think, dear?" Omnis asked Althea once farther down the hall.

Althea's eyes gleamed. "I think the plan is going very smoothly. Very smoothly indeed."

Wormtail sat in a straight-backed chair, staring straight ahead. "The bars were a special invention of my master's, made especially for Harry Potter. If someone tried to disapparate him out, his memories would be blocked and he would be apparated into the care of Death Eaters."

"His memories would be blocked," Remus mused.

"Which Death Eaters? Where are they? Where's Harry?" Sirius demanded to know.

"Only my master knows the location of the Lestranges and the Potter boy."

The room burst into uproar. "The Lestranges?" "Those horrible people!" "Not them!" "They'll kill him!"

"Where is You-Know-Who?" Grover Fudge asked, sputtering.

At the question, Wormtail's face began to shake violently and his eyes rolled upward. "Can't tell; no, no, no, I can't! I can't!" His speaking had become very mechanical and monotone.

"Blast, You-Know-Who put strong dark magic on that question." Grover Fudge told Remus disgustedly, "Put him on ice. Or in it, rather."

"Wait," Sirius said. He took something that had been sticking out of Wormtail's robes and gazed down at it. "Harry's wand."

Remus refroze Pettigrew quickly as the group goggled at the wand.

"If the Lestranges have Harry, and he doesn't know who he is, they could tell him anything and he'd believe it. They'll hand him right over to You-Know-Who," Mr. Weasley mumbled to himself in disbelief.

"What are the odds he's even still alive?" Carolyn wondered quietly.

Everyone's heads jerked toward her, angry that she had spoken their fears aloud.

Sirius stood up, announcing heatedly, "Voldemort is not going to get Harry. I refuse to believe that he has him already. If you decide to believe that, it's up to you, but I won't. Come on, Remus, we have to find him before Voldemort does."

"But you don't know where to look," Samuel said, standing up as well. At the steely look on Sirius's face, he continued with a sigh, "You have the full search support of the Enforcers. We'll do whatever you think is best."

"Great. We need to divide up. Little Hangleton is where Remus, some Enforcers, and I will go to look because that's where the Riddle House is, and that's where Voldemort last met Harry. The Lestranges could be somewhere near there. I want the rest of the Enforcers to search around Little Hangleton, in the small surrounding towns and in the forests. We'll find him."

Grover Fudge pounded him on the back. "That's the spirit. Samuel, get your Enforcers together and start making plans and giving out assignments. You have the Ministry's full support, just let us know what we can do to help."

"Samuel, whoever's coming with Remus and I had better get ready quick because we're leaving," Sirius said, drawing his cloak up around himself.

Linda rose and reminded, "Sirius, your trial before Wizard Council. It's in a week."

"I'll be back by then. And so will Harry."

Michael/Harry was standing in a small room filled with people. An enormous man with a dark bushy beard sat at a table drinking from a large tankard, getting quite red in the face. A boy and a girl about his age were standing nearby arguing passionately. A handsome man with dark hair laughed heartily at what must have been a grand joke with a man who looked remarkably like Michael/Harry and a beautiful woman with long red hair and sparkling green eyes. A tall man with a long silver beard gazed upon the scene as dozens of other people flitted in and out. Michael/Harry tried to figure out whether he knew anyone or anyone looked familiar, but his head felt as if in a fog and he couldn't recall seeing any of them before.

A hard rap on the door caused Michael/Harry to wake up with a start. He forgot the dream he'd been having instantly.

"Michael, it's time to eat," Althea said, opening the door wide enough to stick her head in. "My goodness, look at that hair; it's standing straight-up."

Michael/Harry got out from under the covers and peered into the mirror. Sure enough, his hair was sticking straight up. He tried to flatten his hair, but it kept flopping back up.

"It won't help, dear. Your hair has always been like that. Now, come on downstairs and let's eat." Althea guided the boy out the door with a hand on his back.

Smells of a delicious meal wafted up the stairs as they were going down. "It smells wonderful," Michael/Harry breathed.

Omnis, Althea, and Michael/Harry ate a cheerful dinner, just as a family ought to. Following the last bite of pudding, Omnis suggested they watch home movies to help Michael's memory. Althea heartily agreed and Michael/Harry agreed out of curiosity. He watched himself grow up with his parents from a toddler until pretty close to present-day. Michael/Harry felt completely at home and all feelings of not-belonging and hesitation melted away as fast as the ice cream at his fifth birthday party. He was home.

Ron Weasley was surprised when a letter dropped into his treacle pudding at dinner. "Pig's back from The Burrow." He picked the letter up quickly and wiped the pudding onto his robes.

"Is it from Harry?" Hermione asked, scooting right next to Ron.

"I don't know yet; budge over, will you," Ron answered impatiently, tearing the piece of parchment open. Hermione read over his shoulder:

_Ron,_

_I have some dreadful news for you. It's too complicated to explain all of it in a letter, but there was an episode with Peter Pettigrew and Harry has disappeared. You-Know-Who has easy access to Harry, but hopefully does not have him yet. The Enforcers, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin are searching for him. Sirius Black is innocent, but of course you are aware of that. He has a trial coming up in about a week. Hopefully Harry will be found before then and brought back. Son, I urge you not to do anything foolish, as there is nothing that can be done right now. Your mother and I are coming to Hogwarts tomorrow night and we will discuss this with you further then. Take care of yourself and keep your chin up._

_Dad_

Hermione fled the Great Hall while Ron sat there stunned, letting the news sink in. Draco Malfoy chose that moment to skim the letter Ron was holding. Ron didn't even know he was there until a cruel sniggering sounded in his ear.

"So, the Dark Lord finally has Potter now, does he? Serves him right. That miserable git is gone for good," he hissed.

Ron sprang from the table, hit Malfoy squarely in the jaw, knocked him to the floor, and cursed him. Poison ivy vines began to sprout quickly from Malfoy's ears and nose, wrapping themselves over and under his robes, covering every inch of his body. Ron stalked out of the Great Hall, oblivious to the howls of laughter and applause originating from the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff tables.

He met up with Hermione in the Gryffindor common room next to the fireplace.

"I can't believe it," he told her.

"Ron, how could this have happened? Why can't Voldemort just leave Harry alone?"

Ron didn't wince at Hermione's first use of the name. "He's bungled Harry's whole life this far. Why should he stop now?"

"Ron, do you think he'll get out of this one? He's escaped all the other times," Hermione said hopefully.

"He has to be okay, he has to be." Ron slammed his fist against the wall. "I hate this! Harry needs us and we can't help him. We don't even know where he is. The last time he was away from us Voldemort almost got him. What if it happens again?"

Hermione moved to his side and hugged him tightly. "It can't. Let's not even think about it."

"It's a good thing the Enforcers didn't come with us on the train," Sirius told Remus once aboard the Muggle train, headed for Little Hangleton. "It would've looked too suspicious, several visitors arriving in town at once." Grover Fudge had ordered the Enforcers to apparate into various places in wooded areas.

Remus nodded. "Little Hangleton lives up to the 'Little' aspect. They don't get many visitors. The only reason we're on this train is because we can't do a proper search at night anyway and we'll look less suspicious coming into town the Muggle way."

Thinking about Harry being at the Riddle House with Voldemort, Sirius shuddered and closed his eyes pensively. "He'd better be all right."

Remus laid a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder and they both silently agreed to try and get some sleep. The next few days were not looking good.

During Sirius's half-sleep that night, he recalled of when he had first met Harry.

_Sirius knocked hesitantly on the door to James and Lily's home in Godric's Hollow. It had only been two days since Harry James Potter had been born and Sirius was afraid he was intruding, even though James and Lily had both heartily invited them. _

_James opened the door wide. "Padfoot, you never knock! You had me worried for a moment!" He came outside and embraced Sirius. "How are you? Come on in."_

_Fatherhood agreed with James. His bright, eager eyes were full of joy and his already-constant smile was wider._

_"Prongs, this is going to sound odd, but I'm not intruding, am I?"_

_"Of course not!" James waved the thought aside, closing the door._

_Sirius felt satisfied with this answer and relaxed. "How are they?"_

_"We're both absolutely wonderful," a melodious voice answered from the stairwell._

_Sirius saw Lily, rosy-cheeked and lovelier than ever. He moved closer to glimpse the small figure wrapped up in a bundle. Lily held him out gently. "Meet Harry James Potter."_

_Sirius Black had never touched nor held a baby in his life, never even seen one up close. But neither had James and he was doing all right. He reached for the little boy and took him into his arms. From a peaceful little face, big green eyes gazed up at Sirius, studying him intently. Sirius became as mesmerized of the baby as the baby was of him. _

_"Look, James, I think Sirius has made a friend," Lily stage-whispered to her husband._

_"I agree. It's a good thing, though, because it makes what we have to ask much easier."_

_Sirius tore his eyes away from Harry and asked curiously, "What?"_

_James took a deep breath and stepped nearer to his son and Sirius. "Padfoot, we want you to be Harry's godfather. I trust you with my life and I know you can be trusted with Harry's. If anything ever happened to us, we'd know he had someone to care for him. He'll be in good hands with you." James glanced at his wife and she gave him a sad yet reassuring smile in return. _

_Sirius gulped. He felt, in a way, unworthy. They would trust him, Sirius Black, free-spirited ladies' man and adventurer, with their son? The thought of anything happening to James and Lily was unbearable and, unfortunately, in these times, all too realistic. He looked from James to Lily to Harry and back to James before answering, "I'll always be here, for all of you. You can count on me, I swear it."_

_Harry broke the silence that followed with a small yawn as he snuggled into the crook of Sirius's arm, his eyes beginning to close._

_"Not too impressed with his godfather, is he?" Sirius commented lightly. Godfather, he thought. How his life had taken on such a great amount of responsibility within only a few moments._

_James and Lily chuckled. Lily came forward and stretched out her arms to take the baby from Sirius. "He's just tired; he's had a busy day: eating, napping, some more eating. Very tiring for an infant, you know. I'll go on up and put him to bed." A thought suddenly occurred to her as she was headed up the stairs. "Oh, would you like to see the nursery?"_

_"Sure," Sirius replied, glancing at James who grinned. Lily had "slaved" over the nursery for two months before it was to her liking. "Oh, I almost forgot; I brought something for Harry." He reached into his robes and handed a color-changing wrapped parcel to James. "Care to do the honors, Prongs?" _

_"Why certainly."_

_Lily came back down the stairs and propped Harry up against her shoulder so that he could see what was going on._

_James let out a mighty laugh when he saw what Sirius had bought--a tiny Nimbus 200 series broomstick, just Harry's size. "We'll have to test this out soon, won't we, Harry?" They all laughed at the look of astonishment on the baby's face as he stared at the broom and reached out a tiny fist to feel the finely polished wood. _

_"Oh no," Lily moaned, half in jest. "Another up-and-coming Quidditch champion in the family."_

_Harry gurgled happily and beamed at Sirius and his parents._

_"All right, young man, we were headed up to bed, I believe," Lily said. "You can thank Sirius as soon as you learn to talk." She started up the staircase once more._

_Sirius made a move to follow and James clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Padfoot, thank you. For being my best friend, for being Harry's godfather, for everything."_

_Sirius was never too good with putting his feelings into words, so he just slung an arm around James and the two followed Lily upstairs to see the nursery masterpiece._

Sirius woke up briefly and looked out the window morosely, "I'll get him back, James. Trust me."

"Michael," a voice whispered through a thick fog. "Michael!" It repeated louder. The fog disappeared and Michael/Harry sat up in bed with a start.

"What?" He asked groggily. "What's going on?"

"It's noon. We're going into town. I have some shopping to do at the market and then we have an appointment with a family friend," his mother told him.

"Who?" Michael/Harry asked, feeling more awake.

"His name's Tom Riddle. We do business together from time-to-time," his father informed from the doorway. "He's really looking forward to seeing you again. It's been a while."

"Oh, all right. I'll get dressed."

"See you downstairs in five minutes," Althea said. She and Omnis left, closing the door behind them.

Michael/Harry wondered, while struggling to pull on a pair of trousers, if his parents were always this last minute about everything. Had he met this Tom Riddle before? He assumed he had, but for some inexplicable reason, a stab of dread pierced his thoughts. "I'm just being daft," he said aloud to himself. There was no reason in the world to be afraid of one of his parents' friends. He pulled on a baseball cap lying on top of his dresser to cover his untidy hair.

Sirius peered into the roaring fireplace in a local tavern. "Remus, any news?" He hissed quietly.

"None, keep looking," was the whispered reply.

Sirius sighed as the head disappeared with the smallest pop. He spun on his heel and left the tavern to start down a street he hadn't ventured down yet.

By the time Omnis, Althea, and Michael/Harry got into town, it was about one o'clock.

"I think Michael and I are going to go down to the pub for a bit," Omnis Lestrange told his wife.

"The pub? It's a bit early, isn't it, dear?"

"Never too early for a pick-me-up, eh, Michael?"

"Well, I guess it's all right if you're certain it's not too early. No getting sloshed now," Althea smiled and abandoned the family's car.

"Truth is, lad, I can't stand going to the market with that woman. She goes in for three items and winds up buying thirty. 'Oh, this might be good. And this over here. Wait, we're getting low on that.' Enough to drive a man mad."

Michael/Harry sniggered at his father's impression of his mother.

"Let's head on down to the Hangleton Pub now. Time's a'wastin'," Omnis encouraged.

After a few drinks, Omnis grew quite jolly. Michael/Harry hadn't had anything but water to drink yet.

"Bartender!" Omnis beckoned the greasy-haired, hook-nosed bartender over to them. "How about a little special something for the lad here?"

"Certainly," the bartender replied in a smooth voice. He turned his back and mixed up a small glass of something for Michael/Harry. When he'd finished, he handed the glass to the boy. "Drink all that down," the bartender instructed him, piercing eyes boring into him. "It'll do you good."

"Yes, lad, drink up," Omnis urged.

Michael/Harry hesitated a moment. Whatever it was he was about to drink looked awful. It was blood-red in color with a swirl of green. The smell coming from it was one of dirty socks. Well, perhaps it tasted better than it smelled. He couldn't just sit there not drinking with the bartender and Omnis watching him like hawks. Michael/Harry took a breath of air and drank the liquid in a single gulp. He sputtered and coughed. "Ugh!"

"That's the ticket," Omnis said, a wide grin on his face. He exchanged glances with the bartender. "Well, I suppose we'd better go for Althea and then go meet Mr. Riddle." He dropped a handful of money on the counter and he headed toward the door, Michael/Harry directly behind him. Upon opening the door outward into the main street, he rammed a young, black-haired man (who had been walking by) hard in the shoulder with the heavy wooden door.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," Omnis apologized.

The man kept walking swiftly up the road, merely waving a hand in acknowledgement behind him.

Omnis and Michael/Harry left the pub and followed the man's path by coincidence, heading toward the market where Althea was sure to be coming out of at any moment.

As she emerged from the market a moment later, she bumped straight into the very same black-haired man. Cans and pieces of fruit tumbled from her basket. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, bending down to pick up her items rolling into the street.

Omnis and Michael/Harry quickened their step to reach her in order to help.

The black-haired man was retrieving a few of her groceries when he turned toward Omnis and Michael/Harry suddenly to reach some green beans that rolled behind him. Michael/Harry had bent to tie his shoe. Omnis goggled at the man for a moment before taking Michael/Harry's arm roughly and whirled him around so the black-haired man couldn't see his face.

"Michael, go over to that restaurant across the street immediately. Tom will be waiting for you. Go on, now." Michael/Harry wondered why his father was acting so strangely, but thought it best to follow his instructions. He headed across the street, the black-haired man's eyes on him.

"Harry?" He called when the boy was halfway across the street. He stood up and squinted his eyes, needing to see the boy's face. The hat that the boy was wearing really distorted his appearance, making it difficult to tell who it was.

Omnis Lestrange blocked the man's view and said, "Thank you for your help, sir, but my wife and I can handle this now."

The man stopped staring after Michael/Harry and now stared into Omnis's face. Light of recognition came into his eyes. "Omnis Lestrange!" He spun around to take another look at Althea. "Althea!" He looked again at Michael/Harry's retreating back and bolted across the street to him. Omnis followed at his heels and tackled him as they reached the opposite sidewalk.

"Not this time, Sirius Black," Omnis hissed in his ear.

Michael/Harry stood inside the restaurant looking around. His head had begun to throb. He tried to pass that off as an effect of his fever he'd had, but the pain wouldn't go away. "Ah, Mr. Potter," a voice said behind Michael/Harry inside the restaurant.

Michael/Harry turned around and said, "Er, no, I'm Michael Lestrange."

The man to whom the voice belonged smirked. He was tall and very thin with black hair, clad in only black from his black boots to his black sunglasses. "I really don't think so." He tapped Michael/Harry on the forehead and all of a sudden, the pain became blinding and it sent the boy reeling. All his memories came back to him in a flash and his identity was clear at once.

"Voldemort," he groaned through clenched teeth.

"_Lord_ Voldemort." More pain struck Harry and he was aware of Voldemort using the Cruciatus curse on the restaurant workers and patrons. Everyone was screaming and everything was in confusion.

"Ah, I see your godfather has come to attempt to rescue you. No matter, we'll bring him along." A snap of his fingers and the Lestranges, Sirius, and Harry were apparated into a setting all-to-familiar to Harry: right next to the grave of Voldemort's father Tom Riddle Sr. However, Sirius was now the one tied to the tombstone, a trickle of blood running down his now-battered face. Harry stood straight and tall before Lord Voldemort. A huge crowd of Death Eaters stood in a semi-circle, whispers and speculations flying around.

"Well, Mr. Potter, this seems to be a bit of déjà vu, doesn't it? However, the outcome will be much different this time. No more fooling around. I will kill you, as I killed your parents. First, how would you like to watch your godfather die?" Voldemort laughed coldly, gesturing toward Sirius.

"Please don't," Harry said, trying to calm his racing heart and roaring pain in his scar. "I'm the one you really want; just let him go."

"Are you begging Lord Voldemort?" His red eyes glowed with pleasure, sunglasses no longer covering them.

"I will if you want me to." Harry didn't want to give Voldemort the satisfaction yet he had to protect Sirius. He would do anything that was necessary to do that.

Voldemort was disappointed. He was hoping for a bit more trouble from Potter. "Is this your dying wish, then, to save your godfather?"

"Yes."

The Dark Lord pondered this silently for a moment before saying to Sirius, "I will be merciful for now, Mr. Black. I know you will torture yourself for this for the rest of your pathetic life. Your miserable existence will continue." With a flick of his wand, Sirius was disapparated.

As soon as he made contact with ground, far from the Riddle House, Sirius sat up, stunned.

Remus Lupin spotted his friend from a distance and ran to him as fast as he could.

"Padfoot, what's happened? Where's..." Remus cut himself short as he saw tears rolling down Sirius's cheeks."

"I just failed James and Lily for the last time."

"Omnis and Althea have delivered Mr. Potter into my hands, as promised. They will have the privilege of cursing him first. I like to watch my Death Eaters at work." Voldemort paced back and forth in front of his followers.

Harry's scar was hurting so badly now that he wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be conscious. He wanted his wand. He wanted to fight Voldemort face to face, wizard to wizard. He had to get revenge for his parents' murders, for all the murders Voldemort had committed. He had to do it, but without his wand, he knew he would never have another chance. "Please, let me at least die on my feet, staring Voldemort and death directly in the eye," he thought.

Omnis's voice from under his robes said, "How about the Cruciatus, my lord?"

Voldemort chuckled. "You always did prefer that curse. You may proceed." Turning to Harry, he added, "Prepare yourself, Mr. Potter. This is going to hurt."

Omnis Lestrange shouted, "Crucio!" The pain from the curse struck Harry full-force and before things went black completely, he felt something very odd happening.

Remus sat next to his friend on the green hillside, numb from the news of what was happening to Harry at that very moment. Sirius had his head down on his knees, hopeless and heartbroken.

Suddenly, a thud behind them caused them to leap to their feet and whirl about. It was Harry! He lay unconscious but alive in the grass.

"How in the world--?" Remus began, but Sirius interrupted him, holding Harry's limp body in his arms.

"We have to get to the Ministry now. Let's disapparate, quickly."


	4. The Hogwarts Fugitive, Part 4

Note: I can't explain what's been going on for two years, but "The Hogwarts Fugitive" got pushed to the backburner. I don't have that old e-mail, so couldn't sign in under my original name. "The Hogwarts Fugitive" takes place at the beginning of Harry's fifth year. I'd recommend reading the first three parts b/c anyone who did has certainly forgotten by now, and those who haven't will get what's going on better. I'm uploading the first three stories again as well, under this name.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story other than the scienwitzists, and if J.K. Rowling wanted them she could certainly have them. This story was written for pure enjoyment.

The Hogwarts Fugitive, Part 4 

"Ron, you understand, don't you, son? We're doing everything we can," Arthur Weasley explained quietly after relating all the recent events. He and Molly had arrived at Hogwarts that evening and were standing in the Gryffindor common room with Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny.

"All the wizarding world is looking for Harry, dear. He'll be alright. With Peter Pettigrew alive and a trial scheduled in two days for Sirius, things are looking up. Harry'll be able to live with Sirius. Arthur has found houses for sale just near us to show them. Isn't that wonderful?" Molly tried to sound uplifting, avoiding her real fears of Harry's predicament.

"Not if Harry's dead," Ron replied. His face was like stone as he gazed at his parents. He didn't want to have false hope. He wasn't able to see what was going on for himself, so how was he to know what was truly going on?

"Ron!" Hermione looked shocked. She'd been crying since the Weasleys arrived, but felt hopeful by their news. Ron, on the other hand, had become more and more discouraged and distant as the week had gone on and now apparently didn't even want to hope.

"You had him, Dad. You had him by the arm and you let him go."

"Don't say that to your father! He and the scienwitzists didn't know about the disapparating spell Voldemort had used!" Molly stood up for her husband, knowing he felt bad enough.

"This is someone's fault, Mum! Harry gets all the bum deals because of other people! Mainly Voldemort, but Dad, Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore haven't helped much either have they?! Harry needs us—me and Hermione—we've helped him get out of everything before! And we can't be there! It's not fair!" Ron was yelling at the top of his lungs. He would've run from the room but there was nowhere to go but his room and he couldn't deal with having to feel this way in front of Neville, Dean, and Seamus.

Molly came over to Ron and put her arms around him. He tried to fight his way out of her embrace, but gave in and sagged into her, exhausted.

Hermione hugged Ginny then went over to Arthur. She whispered, "He didn't mean it."

Arthur smiled at her efforts to apologize for Ron. "I know. I blame myself too, although I know it couldn't have been helped. We were all in a great hurry to free Harry from the bars, realizing that this was some sort of unique trap set by Voldemort, and it seemed an easy fix at the time. What we didn't know was that the easy way was the choice Voldemort wanted us to make."

Having overheard his father's comment, Ron had calmed down enough to be remorseful for what he'd said a moment ago. "I'm sorry, Dad, I didn't mean what I said."

"I know. We shouldn't turn on each other though. This is all Voldemort's doing. The best we can do is band together and do our best to fight against him and those who follow him."

"Shouldn't we go back to the Ministry, dear? Maybe there'll be some new information on the Little Hangleton search."

"Yes, we'd better be off." The two parents gave their children and Hermione hugs goodbye.

"Hey," Hermione said, "I just realized something."

Everyone watched her expectantly.

"We've all said Voldemort's name."

****

Remus and Sirius, carrying Harry, apparated into the scienwitzists' lab in the Ministry. It was empty.

"Blast!" Sirius exclaimed. "Everyone must still be out searching."

"I'll go look around," Remus replied. "Let's lay Harry down on this table here for now." Remus took off his cloak and rolled it into a ball to place under Harry's head. He left the room swiftly.

Sirius plopped down beside the table and sighed. His forehead was still bleeding, but he didn't feel any pain. He was dazed beyond belief and felt foggy with confusion. How had Harry been returned to him? The situation when he'd left had appeared hopeless. Sirius stared down at Harry, eager to see or hear some signs of his being okay. At least he was breathing.

Remus hurried back into the room with Grover Fudge and Carolyn. "I found Minister Fudge and Carolyn still here. Everyone else was out searching, but they're all being called back in. Several witches and wizards are in Little Hangleton casting memory charms in that restaurant where Voldemort cast the Cruciatus curse."

Carolyn noticed Sirius was injured and came over to his side. "What happened to you?"

"Me? Look at Harry!"

Carolyn ignored Sirius and whispered a healing charm that cured him immediately. His dull headache disappeared and the blood was cleaned from his face.

"Thanks," he said, slightly embarrassed at his outburst since it had taken her so little time to fix his injury.

"No problem." Carolyn held his gaze for a moment before moving onto Harry. She laid her ear to Harry's chest and listened to his breathing for a moment. "I'm not a healer, so I don't want to risk doing anything that might hurt him worse. Instead of enervating him, I think we should let him come to of his own accord, at least until a healer can take a look. I'm not sure what's been done."

"Remus filled us in on what happened," Grover commented. "I don't see how it was possible. The few we have posed as Death Eaters wouldn't be able to reveal themselves by protecting Harry in front of the other Death Eaters and You-Know-Who. If Veritaserum was given to me, I could honestly say I didn't know who we had posing as Death Eaters."

"Remus and I couldn't think of who helped Harry, who had access to him of those we have working for us."

"Hmm, it's a mystery for now."

Harry rubbed his eyes, not understanding what he was seeing. He saw himself in an open-coffin with Sirius standing alone beside him. They were off in a wooded area so far out in the brush that no sunlight managed to sneak its way in through the trees. The coffin stood beside a gravestone clearly reading:

Harry James Potter 

_The Boy Who Lived and Died_

_By Voldemort's Hand_

_15 years old_

_Rest in Peace_

One strange thing, however, was that there was no hole in the ground for the coffin to be buried. Sirius, powder-white, appeared ready to fall over from tiredness and defeat.

"I tried, Harry, James. I tried my damndest, I promise. Yet I've still failed. Voldemort has taken over again, my closest friends are dead, and I have nothing left. I'm sending Harry to you, James. I hope to follow shortly." Closing the coffin lid over Harry's face, He raised his wand dejectedly and pointed it. "Sanctuaria." A burst of golden light enveloped the casket and sent it rocketing up to the clouds.

Sirius leapt up at Harry's side. "He's stopped breathing!" He stared down at Harry's face, which was quickly turning gray. Carolyn was quick to start Muggle-CPR, not knowing any other way to help him.

"I'm sending for Dumbledore." Remus took out a neon pink shoelace and made it disapparate.

"What was that? A self-sufficient portkey?" Sirius asked, panicked.

"Yes."

Dumbledore landed on the floor with a most unexpected figure at his side.

Harry opened the coffin lid as one would open a refrigerator door. "Where am I?" He mused out loud. It had seemed as though he was shooting up to the sky, but that's not where he ended up. A large room painted purple from ceiling to floor enclosed him and, with no doors, windows, or anything on the walls he felt boxed in. The room was lit brightly by an unseen source.

Unsure what to do next, Harry flopped down into a seated position and decided that if anything was to happen, he would let someone else initiate it. He was tired.

He didn't have long to wait. Silently, a figure moved itself away from the wall, camouflaged in purple robes that matched the room's color exactly. The figure smiled kindly behind Harry and began to speak. "Young Harry Potter, it's an honor."

Startled at hearing the voice, Harry jumped up, alert. The tall elderly man in purple robes and long pointed hat was smiling pleasantly and he looked so much like Dumbledore that Harry relaxed immediately. His beard was a lot longer and whiter, but without that small difference, the man and Dumbledore could've been twins. "Wh-Who are you?"

"Well, this meeting is all about you, really, Harry, but know that I am advisor and friend to all witches and wizards. Muggles, Half and Halfs, so-called Pure Bloods; 'tis no matter. I am here for those who need me, and you, my dear lad, need me."

Harry had wanted a name, but decided not to press him just then.

"Snape!" Sirius was partly disgusted, partly shocked

Snape and Dumbledore brushed by him and leaned over Harry. "Severus, could the Rebota Serum have caused some type of reaction in Harry?

Snape opened Harry's eyelids and felt his pulse. Taking out his wand, he whispered, "Respira alienta." Harry began to breathe again, and everyone in the room exhaled with relief.

"I'll have to remember that one," Carolyn remarked nervously.

Snape turned to Dumbledore, completely confused. "Professor, I don't understand. According to my study of Rebota Serum, there should be no ill reaction to the potion when met with any type of curse."

Dumbledore's face was enigmatic, but he merely said, "Well, Severus, as long as Mr. Potter continues to breathe and stay in this life, I suppose all we can do is wait for him to come out of the reaction. Suggestions for treatment?"

"If this is a reaction to the potion, enervation should be attempted every hour and he should be watched at all times, in case of another breathing episode." Snape was emotionless.

"What was this 'Rebota Serum' you mentioned, Professor?" Sirius asked. "We're still not sure what happened to Harry after Voldemort disapparated me."

Snape snorted. "Are you really so clueless about the latest chain of events, Black? I saw you at the very tavern you drowned your sorrows in at the end of nearly every night in Little Hangleton."

Sirius and Snape moved toward each other, but Remus held Sirius back. "There's no point, Padfoot."

"Remus is correct, Severus. There is no point in wasting time when you have urgent matters awaiting you. Please explain what happened. This is classified information that is not to leave this room, understood?" Everyone nodded solemnly.

Snape sighed. "The Lestranges and I are working _against_ Voldemort under the guise of Death Eaters. We played along with Voldemort's scheme to retrieve Harry for him. They acted as his parents with Potter under the memory blocking charm placed upon him by the "cage" he was entrapped in. When whoever it was tried to disapparate him from the bars, the charm took place. The Lestranges were to get him to Voldemort sometime that week. My position as bartender was originally as keeping an eye out for newcomers in town, such as yourself, Black. The drink I gave Harry when Omnis brought him in was the Rebota Serum, which is a new potion of my own creation. When an illegal or deadly spell is placed on the drinker of the potion, they are immediately disapparated to either a person or location. I set the destination to be wherever Black was."

"What if I'd still been before Voldemort? What if he hadn't let me go?" Sirius demanded.

"Then that would've been Potter's misfortune." Snape sneered, but after a sharp look from Dumbledore, he continued with more restraint. "I know Voldemort's ways. He lives to make people as miserable and helpless as they can be. In your case, miserable wouldn't have been pain and death. Miserable would've been failing the last member of the Potter family and living to suffer the consequences."

Sirius was silenced by this, thinking of what would've happened had Harry died. He sat down beside Harry again and laid a hand on his arm thoughtfully.

Remus asked Snape, "What do you know of the two men who attacked Harry at the train station and the Death Eater doctor?"

"The two men were muggles hired by the Goyles. They were given the poisoned dagger to use and paid fifty pounds to harm Potter as much as they could without risking being caught. 'Dr. Wheeler' is Chrysanthia Wheaton, recent acquisition to the Death Eaters. She's a healer, but mostly spies for the Death Eaters." Snape was starting to look nervous. He rubbed his arm, trying to conceal a wince.

Dumbledore glanced at a pocket watch and then at Snape. "You'd best get back. I don't think there's much time to spare."

Snape nodded. He directed a sly look. "I'm to be called if any further symptoms occur. Before I go, however, I have some advice for you, Black—keep better watch of Potter. I may not be there to save him next time." He took a cue ball from the pocket of his robes and disappeared.

Sirius was furious—Snape had gotten the last word. "Damn that man!"

Dumbledore put a hand on his shoulder and gently said, "Calm yourself. He's not the devil you make him out to be. Severus did Harry a great service, at risk of his own life."

Sirius quieted down. "He's always known the best targets to hit, that's all."

The purple-clad wizard paced back and forth before Harry a few times before sitting down on a purple cushion that had suddenly appeared. Harry felt one being slid under him as well.

"Well, lad, as we speak, your godfather and a whole roomful of people are quite concerned about you. You've had a bad reaction with a potion that saved your life and the Cruciatus Curse. Though I'm sorry for the cause of your being here, I'm glad for the chance to talk to you."

"Potion? What potion?"

"The explanation is quite lengthy, and you will know it soon enough, but basically you were saved from Voldemort by a potion that deflects any type of curse and disapparates you to a loved one. That's how you were returned to Sirius."

This only filled Harry with more questions, but the wizard held up a finger. "We may not have much time, lad. Trust me, you will understand soon."

"So if I'm not dead, where am I?"

"You're in the room outside of Peace."

"Peace?"

"It's similar to Muggles' "Heaven." We wizards wanted our own resting place after death, so with good senses of humor, we created our own destination. You know what gravestones say—Rest in Peace—well, you're there. Rather, almost there. If you do not recover, you'll stay, but I have optimistic premonitions of your leaving quite soon."

"Are my parents here?"

"James and Lily? Yes, we had tea just yesterday and had a chat about you. They're so proud, though they've been quite worried about you and your dealings with Voldemort the past few years."

"Can I see them?"

"Only if you die, lad, unfortunately." Harry's look of disappointment caused the wizard to continue. "But they see you, hear you, watch you all the time. They're always nearby."

The thought made Harry smile. Of course many people had told him things like that about his parents over the years, but having this strange man who was in Peace with his parents helped him know it was true.

Peering over Harry's shoulder at what must've been an invisible clock, the wizard seemed hurried. "There is much to say. It won't all make sense to you now, but it will. Lie down on the cushion, close your eyes, listen, and watch."

"You were not born an ordinary child. Your parents had amazing powers and captured many Dark Wizards in their time. Once you were born, however, they were happy and safe for a time with you and their friends before being betrayed by Peter Pettigrew. You suffered at the Dursleys before finally finding your home at Hogwarts and your place in the wizarding world. You made great friends and allies and have defeated Voldemort multiple times now. You won again today, and will continue to win. Good _always _overcomes evil, young Potter, in the end. No matter how merciless, how trying, how difficult times are, the work is worth it. You will defeat Voldemort, lad. Not alone, but you will be the one to wave his wand last. The Heir of Gryffindor shall overcome the Heir of Slytherin."

"Heir of Gryffindor?" Harry managed to mumble despite his hazy mind. "Me?"

"Yes, you, lad. But don't tell anyone. Keep it tucked away in your mind, but know it when you need the information. Know it the way one knows it's rained upon their awakening.

Once Harry had closed his eyes and lay down, all the wizard's words blurred and mixed into colors of the various scenes before him. He saw himself as a baby, his parents' faces, Sirius, Lupin, Wormtail, the murder, growing rapidly at the Dursleys until he turned eleven and was on his way to Hogwarts, Ron, Hermione, himself defeating Voldemort and saving the Sorcerers Stone, in the Chamber of Secrets, in the Shrieking Shack, at the Triwizard Tournament facing Voldemort, Sirius over him in the scienwitzist lab, and now as he was listening to the hypnotizing voice. He floated above each scene. Godric Gryffindor's sword was in front of him and he reached out to grasp its handle. Once doing this, he felt a strong wind begin to blow, like the one that had rocketed him to Peace in the first place.

"You are to go back, lad. You must go back to your family and friends. They need you. Best of luck, Harry Potter! Tell Dumbledore Merlin sends greetings of lemon drops and tell him to tuck in!"

"He's waking up!" Remus Lupin's voice announced. Other voices chimed in, excited and relieved.

Harry felt hands on his arms and shoulders and one on his foot. He opened his eyes, alert, and glanced up at the people surrounding him—Remus, Sirius, Dumbledore, Grover Fudge, and Carolyn. "What happened?"

Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore took turns filling him in starting from his staying with the Lestranges to his apparation back to the scienwitzist lab. Once they had finished, Harry felt a rush of remembrance. "I remember," he told them. "It was like I was watching myself the whole time. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't really. Does that make sense?"

Most nodded, and Remus commented, "I've heard that's a common reaction to memory blocking charms."

Harry sat there a moment, thinking. "I dreamed about something, I can't remember what it was...Oh, Professor Dumbledore, Merlin said to send greetings of lemon drops and to tell you to tuck in." The moment he said it, he clearly recalled his visit in Peace with the wizard he now realized had been Merlin.

The room was silent. "Uh, Merlin, Harry?" Carolyn asked in a tone that clearly threatened St. Mungo's mental ward.

Dumbledore smiled. "Tuck in," he mused. "I certainly will." Looking at all the confused expressions on everyone's faces, he revealed, "I'm Merlin's great-great-great grandson," as if that should explain it all. He turned to Harry. "So you spoke to Merlin, did you? I'm glad he had the good sense to send you back. That was no dream, Harry. You were there."

"Where?" Grover Fudge asked, thoroughly confused.

"Just outside Peace. Harry had what some muggles call an out-of-body experience, and what we know as The Wizard's Decision. Merlin is The Wizard."

Carolyn was surprised. "I never knew that. I just thought it was the person who was dying's decision—to stay or go."

"Does Merlin decide for everyone?" Harry wondered out loud, thinking about his parents.

Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore immediately tuned into his thoughts. "No, Harry," Sirius answered. "Some people are too hurt, too sick, or die immediately, and they never get the chance."

"If everyone got to decide whether they lived or died, Voldemort would be at a loss, wouldn't he? His power lies in the death of others who don't obey him," Remus added thoughtfully.

"Well, we have Merlin to thank for Harry's return, I suppose, don't we?" Dumbledore said. "Is he still getting into mischief, I wonder?"

With that comment, Harry related the tale of the room outside Peace.

Once Harry had finished, Grover Fudge remarked, "I may just have to stay Minister of Magic. It's a rather exciting job."

"Too bad it has to be this kind of excitement," Dumbledore added.

"Yes, yes indeed." Grover snapped back to business. "Well, Dumbledore, I'll be seeing you get your job back as soon as possible. Sirius, you have your trial to get ready for. You and Harry will be staying in one of the wizard refuges until your appointed lawzard comes for you a couple hours before the trial. Harry will not be allowed in, I'm afraid. There will be tight security and only those who are directly connected to this case will be in the courtroom."

Sirius didn't like the last part, but kept his mouth closed. Remus and Harry nodded in understanding.

"You'll be staying in Godric's Glen. There's no Death Eater activity there." Fudge continued.

Harry's eyes opened wide at the name. "Is that near where my parents lived?"

Sirius avoided the question, but Remus gave a quick nod.

"Settled, then?" Grover asked.

Everyone nodded. Dumbledore turned to Sirius, "I'll see you at the trial, Sirius. Have confidence. We have Peter Pettigrew himself as evidence. And that other matter can be completed once you're cleared. Remus, you and Arabella are to find the Muggles involved in the stabbing. Others will handle the search for Wheaton."

Sirius and Remus nodded, tense.

"Goodbye, for now, Harry. We shall both be back at school soon."

Harry tried to answer but felt choked, like his airways had closed. He nodded his acknowledgement.

Dumbledore, Remus, and the scienwitzists disapparated. Grover Fudge shook Sirius's hand and gave him a blue rabbit's foot. "This will take you to where you'll be until you find a place of your own. Best of luck to you both. See you Friday." He disapparated up to his office.

"Ready, Harry?" Sirius asked, turning to him. Harry's face was that awful, ashen gray once more. And now there was no help. Damned if he would call Snape.

Harry let Sirius help him lie down. "Sirius," he started.

"Don't. Don't try to talk. Respira alienta!"

Harry's throat opened again, and he took in all the air he could in one breath. "I gotta learn to do that myself."

"We'll have to talk to Snape if it doesn't clear up, much as we hate him. Come, put a finger on this portkey. Let's get out of here."

An owl dropped a letter in Ron's lap that evening.

_Ron,_

_Everyone is safe, and the trial is a go for Friday. You'll see H soon. More later._

_Dad_

Ron and Hermione filled the Great Hall with shouts of joy.

The portkey took Sirius and Harry to a small, well-furnished house with a great view of a lake. "How's your breathing, son?" The word had slipped from Sirius's mouth. He took sudden great interest in looking outside.

Family, Harry remembered Merlin saying. That's what he wanted more than anything. Although his parents couldn't give it to him, they had chosen someone who would eventually be able to. "Sirius," he began, "after the trial and you're free, you'll be able to be my godfather, right?"

Sirius turned from the window, troubled. "I'm your godfather now, Harry."

"Oh, I know, but I mean legally. Can I write to you out in the open and come home for holiday?"

Sirius relaxed. "Of course."

"Can I...can I...erm..." Harry had trouble getting the words out. "Can I call you Dad?"

Sirius swallowed hard, surprised and overcome. "Yes. Yes, if you like."

Harry flushed slightly, embarrassed he'd asked. He wondered if Sirius's surprise was a good or bad sign. "I mean, I know you aren't my dad, but you're as good as, and I think Dad would be okay with it, but if you don't want me to, I..."

Sirius stopped him. "I'd like it very much, Harry." He watched Harry relax, and made a suggestion. "How about we test that lake out? Looks like it's been waiting for us."

The two put on Muggle shorts and swam for a long time, until it was dark. Sirius found a deep place, deep enough to dive in, and promised he'd teach Harry how the next day. The boy would be swimming like a fish, like James, in no time. Sirius was going to try his best to make up for lost time.

Once they were inside, they changed into pajamas and sat by the fire. Hedwig hooted with satisfaction. Sirius handed Harry a butterbeer. "Harry, I've been wrong not to talk to you about your parents earlier. When we were in our last year at Hogwarts, everything in the wizarding world was starting to change. Voldemort was gathering Death Eaters fast. Remus, your parents, and I made the final decision to become Aurors. The training's hard work. There were days when we didn't think we could continue, but we did because we wanted a better world. For ourselves, for everyone. James and Lily married immediately after the training. As Aurors we all felt like we were living on borrowed time, and they didn't want to waste any. We followed any leads we could, captured several Death Eaters—and the bounties on their heads. We were some of the best. We worked on Mad Eye's team." Sirius paused and took a swig from his own Butterbeer. Harry watched him, hungry for more.

"When Lily found out she was pregnant with you, she and James were at their happiest—but saddest at the same time. They were high on Voldemort's target list—they were too powerful. They went into hiding, over in Godric's Hollow. Remus and I saw them as much as I could. Wormtail was assigned as their secret keeper. I was afraid I'd bungle the whole thing, be responsible for anything bad that happened. As their best friend, I would've been the obvious secret-keeper. I loved James and Lily too much to let that happen. In hindsight, I should've...if only..."

Harry scooted closer. "You didn't know. If only I hadn't been born, that's what would've saved them. Mum, at least. Voldemort killed her for protecting me."

Sirius looked up, angry. "Harry, I don't ever want to hear you say that again. Wish I hadn't heard it now. You were the best thing that happened to them. Voldemort would've killed your mother anyway. Voldemort caused their deaths. Not you."

"Not you either, then," Harry said.

"No, I suppose not. All the troubles in our lives, Harry, are due to Voldemort."

"That's why he's got to die. We've got to end this."

"You're so young, and you've gone through so much. Remus knows you have a part to play in this, and, with reservations, so do I. I just can't lose you, Harry." Sirius added, "Son," under his breath.

"You won't. You're stuck with me." Harry tried to lighten the mood. "And tomorrow, I'm going to beat you across the lake. The whole lake."

"Taking on the whole lake after a few swims? Awfully brave. We'll have to see who touches grass first."

The next morning after breakfast Harry and Sirius went back out to the lake, where Sirius tried to teach Harry how to dive. Harry's first attempt was a harsh belly-flop. When he resurfaced with a red upper torso, Sirius was laughing. "I think you need to try that again, lad."

Harry tried and tried again, and on the seventh try, nailed it. Sirius applauded. "All right, good job! Now how about that race you mentioned last night?" Harry grinned.

Starting along the bank on the south side, the two had to make it all the way to the north side. "Ready?" Harry asked. "On three. One, two..." Sirius kicked off.

"Hey!" Harry yelled, laughing, and kicked off as well. He used as much speed as he could and made it to the other end, seconds before Sirius. He climbed out of the water, panting.

"Good show, Harry!" Sirius said. Catching his breath as well, he climbed out and sat beside Harry on the grass. He was breathing again easily before Harry. "You alright? Throat closed up again?"

Harry shook his head no, although he wasn't sure. "Just...can't...catch...my breath."

"Let's take it easy for a bit. Enjoy the art of floating, perhaps." Sirius watched him suspiciously, even after Harry's breathing returned to normal. Harry tried extra-hard to convince him he was fine. Sirius didn't need to leave for his trial worrying about him. He dunked Sirius and they swam underwater. Harry was glad this lake didn't have mermaids, but he rather missed his gills. He had to keep coming up for air.

Late that afternoon Remus apparated in unexpectedly. "Sirius, you've got to come with me. Arabella's away on other business, and I've found the muggles who stabbed Harry. I need your help."

"I've been wanting to meet up with them, but who's staying with Harry?"

Remus answered reluctantly, "No one's available. Everyone's either on business or headed to your trial. If you and I don't get these muggles tonight, we may lose them. Harry will be quite safe. No one knows he's here, honestly. Our spies among the Death Eaters say Voldemort is growing impatient. There are simply no clues."

Sirius still didn't like it. "We won't have time to come back before the trial either. That leaves him alone nearly a day."

"This is important, Sirius."

"I know, I know." Sirius, frustrated, was having an awful struggle. "I remember the days having no attachments. These things were much easier. No one to trouble about or worry with. Okay, let's go." He called toward the kitchen for Harry. When Harry came out, he looked upset. Sirius didn't have time to think about it, and told him where he was going. "Be safe, don't move from this house. I'll be back tomorrow after my trial—as long as everything goes well."

Harry said abruptly, "You'll be free again soon."

Sirius clapped Harry's shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow...son." Remus heard "son" and looked a bit confused. Harry headed back to the kitchen.

"Let's get going," Sirius said.

"You and Harry have patched things up, then?" Remus asked.

"Yes, yes we have. And if the trial works out in my favor, we can truly be father and son."

Remus smiled sadly, missing James yet happy for Sirius. He held out a piece of black licorice, and the two men disappeared.

Harry, hearing the pop, came from the kitchen and dashed out the front door, eyes red, jaw set. He had somewhere to go.

Not sure where Godric's Hollow was in relation to Godric's Glen, Harry asked an old woman passing by.

"Oh, it's but two miles from here, straight down this road. You can make it before dark."

Harry thanked her and kept moving. He had to see his parents' house before Sirius got back the next day and found him missing. He had to see where it all happened.

He made it just as the sun was beginning to set. Not wanting to ask anyone where the Potter house had been, Harry looked for the house he'd seen so often in his dreams and visions, and, sure enough, he found it in the outskirts of town. It hadn't been lived in since, and was run down, but it was the most beautiful house to Harry. Making sure no one was watching, he climbed in a broken window.

It was the living room. Right in front of the doorway, his dad had fallen dead instantly after Voldemort's curse. He fell down suddenly, surprised, across the living room floor. Harry shook his head, trying to shake out the sight. He explored the kitchen and study. Every room was devoid of furniture, dishes, and all belongings. Now came the room he'd wanted to see his whole life—his. He went upstairs.

The nursery walls had a faded nighttime sky still painted on them. A chipped moon watched over the spot where Harry's crib had been. The window showed the real sky getting dark too. Harry lay down on the carpet, still soft after all these years.

Remus popped his head in the fireplace at Harry and Sirius's house late that night. "Harry!" He called. No answer. "Harry!" He shouted louder. It was late. Perhaps the boy was in one of the bedrooms. After all, he hadn't known anyone was going to try and contact him. Pushing aside mounting dread, he stood up and went toward his bed.

"How was Harry?" Sirius asked, yawning.

"Asleep on the couch, my friend. Get some rest. Big day tomorrow." Within minutes, Sirius was snoring, but Remus knew he'd be up a long time that night. "Please, Harry, be alright."

The sun streamed in the nursery window onto Harry's face. He woke with a start, disoriented. He looked outside, wondering what time it was. He had to leave himself enough time to get back to the house. Catching a glimpse of something white in the backyard, Harry went down to investigate.

Once outside in the wooded backyard, he recognized it from the dream he'd had about Sirius standing over his grave. Except this wasn't his grave. The big white tombstone read his parents' names. Harry touched the cold surface. "Mum, Dad, Sirius is having his trial today. He's finally going to be free. They have Wormtail, so there's no way it can go wrong. I asked him if I could call him Dad—I hope that's okay. I don't know how he feels about me—I think he thinks I'm going to slow him down. I've wanted you guys my whole life, and I can't have you." Harry felt tears come upon him, and he let them drop; soak into the ground. His throat reclosed, and he found it hard to breathe. He fell to the cool grass. _Not again_, he thought. He reached for his wand, then paused. _Maybe I should let it suffocate me. I'll die here with my parents. I won't say Respira Alienta. Sirius won't have to look after me anymore. He'll really be a free man after his trial. I can't burden any more people._

Harry heard someone running through the grass. "Respira alienta!" A voice above him said.

_No_. Harry felt the magic open his throat back up, but he remained still, wishing for death. He didn't move, didn't breathe.

"Harry, can you hear me?" It was Remus. "Answer me." Harry felt him kneel down. "Come on, not now. Respira alienta!"

This time breath whooshed out of Harry, and he was forced to acknowledge Remus. He exploded, "You should've let me die! I'm a burden to Sirius. He doesn't really want me. This was the perfect way to die, with my parents."

Remus was shocked. "Harry, I came as soon as the trial was over. Peter's in custody, and

Sirius is free, just as we knew he would be. Do you know what he's doing right now? He's picking up adoption papers, Harry—adoption papers to make you legally his son. Do you know what it would have done to him, to get home, trace you here—as I did—only to find you dead?" Now, he was angry.

Harry was taken aback. "He was? He is?"

"Yes, he is. So tell me what's it's going to be—wait here until you have another breathing attack, or go home to a man who loves you and wants to be your father and friend? It's up to you. If you want to die now after all everyone's done to keep you alive, I won't stop you." Glancing at the boy's wounded look, Remus knew he'd gone too far. Harry had no one to care for him most of his life, and was feeling guilty now that people did. He sat down on the ground beside him.

"Harry, I didn't mean that. I don't like seeing you this way, hearing you talk this way. I love you nearly the way Sirius does—James was my best friend, too. He talked about all the things he wanted for you, and an early death certainly wasn't one of them."

"Yeah." Harry didn't look at Remus. He couldn't. He was ashamed at his weakness and selfishness. People had died for him—not just his parents either. People risked their safety everyday to keep him and others safe from Voldemort. "It was stupid, I'm sorry. Are you going to tell Sirius?"

Remus hesitated. "Not about you trying to let yourself die. As long as you never do it again. No taking unnecessary risks either. Your Devil-May-Care attitude isn't going to work anymore."

"I won't. Promise. Do you think Sirius is back yet?"

"Great Merlin, I hope not. He'll be out of his skin, wondering where we are. Let's get back. I have a portkey." He took out a mug.

"Wait, Remus," Harry said. "Thanks. I really didn't mean it. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Sirius wants you with him, Harry. He will be your guardian, friend, and father with great joy. Believe it and know it everyday. I'm your friend, too, and I expect you to come to me when you need something or want to talk. Come on." He put an arm around Harry, and they popped back into the living room.

"Harry, where have you been? And, Remus, you disappeared fast. I'm a free man! I can do cartwheels down Diagon Alley anytime I want! I can go into any pub, any shop, anywhere!" Sirius couldn't stand still. He was all over the room. He calmed down and stared at Harry and Remus for answers.

"I went to see my parents' house and grave. I had another breathing thing, and luckily Remus found me."

"Yes, er, Snape is going to have to come out. These breathing episodes can't continue," Remus added.

"Even Snape couldn't bother me now. I would've taken you to your parents' house." Sirius focused on Harry, concerned, and smoothed unruly hair away from Harry's forehead. "You alright now?"

"Yeah, better than alright—you're free!" Harry grinned widely.

"Hard to believe!" Sirius got serious again. "Some other business got taken care of, too, after the trial. You and Dumbledore will both be back at school in another week, for one."

Harry was happy and sad—happy to be seeing his friends again, but not wanting to leave Sirius so soon. He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been back by the grave. "Er, before you go on, I have something else to say. When I had the breathing thing, I didn't say Respira Alienta. Not because I couldn't, but I thought you'd be better off."

Remus was proud of the boy's honesty.

Sirius asked slowly, "Better off?"

"Well, you're finally free, and I heard you say to Remus you didn't like having someone to worry about. You don't need me around."

"Harry, Harry, I didn't say I didn't like it! It puts more responsibility and pressure on me, but I want it because I want you in my life. This day is so great, mostly because of you. That's why..." Sirius dug around in his robe. "I brought this back." He unrolled a document and handed it to Harry.

The adoption papers. Harry couldn't speak.

"You don't have to sign, no pressure. It's an option, that's all."

Remus took this as his cue to leave. He hugged Harry and Sirius. "Congratulations, Padfoot—no one deserves freedom more. I'll be back tomorrow night with new instructions from Dumbledore." He put his hand on a paperclip in his pocket and was gone.

Sirius started to take the paper back. "Let's eat, I'm sure you're hungry."

"Not until I get a quill to sign this and become Harry James Potter Black." Harry looked stubbornly at Sirius.

Sirius pulled one out of his pocket. Harry signed his name without hesitation. "Now you're really stuck with me, _Dad_."

"Gladly, _son_, gladly. Now, next time you pull a stunt like that, I'll have no trouble grounding you."

"Hmm, can I have that paper back a minute?"

"Not a chance, Harry."


End file.
